Lotus expected to slash Bahar bonanza

In 2010 Lotus launched a five-model offensive that we shall call the Bahar bonanza. Then CEO, Dany Bahar, was the star of the Paris Motor Show with his ambitious strategy to spectacularly relaunch the Lotus marque, which included the return of iconic models such as the Elan and Esprit.

Since then Lotus’ parent company, Proton, has a new owner and early last month Dany Bahar was officially suspended from his role and ultimately sacked. The Bahar bonanza, then, is officially over.

It’s understood Lotus will rewrite Bahar’s vision which could include reducing it from five models to three. Speaking to The Star, a Malaysian-based website, RHB Research analyst Alexander Chia claims, “The revised plan is likely to be much more realistic.”

Further watering down the Bahar bonanza, it’s been suggested Lotus should rely more on its in-house knowledge. “DRB-Hicom should make greater use of the engineering expertise and skill sets at Lotus,” Chia explained. “That could help shorten the development time of new models, engines and drivetrains.”

The new owner, DRB-Hicom, has reportedly injected £200m into Lotus since their buyout of Proton and will increase that by another £100m if required.

RHB Research submitted a report to DRB-Hicom about renergising the Proton and Lotus brands. A new plan is expected to be finalised by early–mid 2013.

[Source: The Star]