Lotus' production has been cut by as much as 78 percent. This even though the Chinese-owned car brand has sold significantly more cars than in the whole of 2023.
The Geely-owned Lotus brand is in crisis. And as a direct consequence of that, production has been cut by 78 percent.
Lotus now expects to build only 12,000 cars this year. At the beginning of January, it appeared that the brand would build 55,000 cars before December.
Lotus management is already blaming everyone but themselves. Instead, the bosses believe that the decline is due to the punitive tariffs that several countries and unions have imposed on Chinese-made cars.
In the USA and Canada, for example, they have placed 100 percent customs duty on all cars that are built in China. Including those in the Lotus model range.
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At home – or rather throughout the EU – the rates are somewhat lower. After adjustments, the car brands hit hardest by the tariffs have been asked to pay a little more than 36 percent in additional duties.
Already, the EU has operated with a customs duty of 10 percent on all cars manufactured in China. Conversely, the new rates have caused several car brands to focus directly on Europe.
One brand has even chosen to pull all production out of China to move it directly to Europe. Read more about it here.
At Lotus, it is especially the North American penalty that hurts. The brand now expects to sell only 30,000 cars next year. They had hoped for 76,000.
Here at home, just 10 new Lotus models have been given number plates between 1 January and 31 July this year. That's not even enough for 0.1 percent of the market.
In comparison, Volkswagen, which after being beaten by Tesla throughout 2023, can once again sit at the top of the Danish market. The Germans have 10.3 percent of the market for new cars in Denmark.
Read more exciting news from and about the world of cars right here!
