Lotus Sold Only 576 Cars Last Year, Is Cutting Jobs

576 cars sold during an entire year. That is not something any carmaker would be satisfied with, regardless of its name and prestige. The Geely-owned Lotus isn't either, and they are looking for a way of coming out of the predicament they’re now in.

The executives are now considering cutting up to 200 jobs following the heavy losses of 145.1 million pounds ($186.4 million) before tax in 2022. The deficit was of 86.6 million pounds ($111.3 million) in 2021, when they sold 1,566 cars. That would be almost three times more than last year.

The low sales figures are somewhat explainable. Lotus had not introduced any new model in more than a decade before the Emira sports car, so the brand lost ground in terms of popularity. The pandemic and then the supply chain problems that followed have only made things worse for the British marque.

Furthermore, Lotus halted the production of Elise, Exile, and Evora in 2021.

They might have an ace up their sleeve in the shape of the electric Eletre SUV. The Eletre rolls off the assembly line in Wuhan, China, and might be just what Lotus needs, considering that the SUV market is ever expanding.

They have also kicked off the production of the Evija, the electric hypercar which is four years behind schedule, and the first deliveries are set to happen in August. 130 of those will be made, but not all have been sold yet. Lotus will also ramp up production of the Emira sedan, the last of their cars with an internal combustion engine. So they already have three models in their portfolio, with the Eletre also in production.

Lotus is also planning an electric sports car that was supposed to be co-developed with Alpine. But the two entities decided to break up this summer, so this one might also have to face serious delays.

Following the announcement, the Lotus bosses claimed they would support the redeployment of staff and would look for ways to retain specific skills and knowledge within the business, despite the cuts they are planning. They are sure that the move will be vital for the organization to be competitive in the long run. They would reportedly spare the employees who build cars, since they are targeting a record year in terms of deliveries, as per BBC.

No word on the type of jobs that are under threat or the divisions that will be affected by the decision.

Back in 2021, when Lotus opened its new base at home, in Hethel, near Wymondham, 250 new jobs were created there, as well as at Lotus Engineering in Warwickshire.