Do you care about the truth? Do you care about the survival of a company whose engineering innovation has fundamentally influenced the cars we drive today? Do you really care? Or is Lotus just another target to parody and poke fun at for our own amusement?
I’d like to test this question with a story which will be published early next week. But first, let me bring you up to speed on why your viewpoint is relevant.
Early last week South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon told the House of Commons that accountancy firm KPMG had been appointed to find a Chinese buyer for Group Lotus. The story was picked up by several ‘reputable’ news providers (including the BBC) and soon was reported as fact, most notably by Autocar’s Steve Cropley, who reported the statement verbatim without appearing to question the accuracy of the claim.
My interest was naturally piqued by this latest revelation, not only because we’ve been following the Lotus situation closely, but because as a former Partner in KPMG and an Alumni of the firm, I keep in touch with my old colleagues and this was definitely ‘news’ to me. So, naturally I dug a little deeper.
During the past few months we’ve spoken with people within Proton, DRB-Hicom and the Malaysian government. We’ve compared notes with respected writers, such as Joe Saward, and thoroughly validated any assumptions we’ve presented after talking directly with Lotus.
I’ve never shied away from criticising the Norfolk car maker, nor its charismatic CEO, but I believe in everyone getting a fair hearing and dislike careless innuendo or misinformation.
With an advisory hat on I’ve sat down with Lotus to find out what’s really going on, to understand the impact of such public scrutiny on their day-to-day business. Everyone makes mistakes and Lotus has been quite open with me about the ones they’ve made, but they expect (and I believe deserve) a fair hearing in the press.
What interests me most at this time is ensuring people are well informed and able to make their own decisions based on the available facts.
As you can probably gather, that’s not the situation which currently exists. Right now, Lotus’ greatest frustration is seeing themselves judged in the media based on misleading comment and biased rhetoric. And despite pursuing retractions, in most cases they are largely being ignored.
If you’re an enthusiast, a fan, or just someone who values the expertise built up in one of Britain’s most innovative companies, then I invite you to hold the media to account, voice your displeasure at careless reporting and question the intentions of those who share their point of view (including myself).
Likewise, help me to ensure all the important questions have been asked. Post any in the comments below and I will endeavour to answer them after meeting again with Lotus next week.
It’s ‘Have Your Say’ time, so take advantage of the opportunity to be heard.
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Lotus have been doomed to fail ever since Colin Chapman died. It's only been the strength of emotion and empathy from the enthusiasts, fans and Mr Chapman's peers that has kept the company going.
As much As Danny Baha's ideas seem to contradict an often unglamorous 'garagista', as Chapman was accused of being, I think his regime is guiding Lotus to a survival that does not rely on emotion alone, probably the only survival possible. This is acceptable as long as the roots of the company aren't ignored. Whether that means the company has to stay in England or not, I don't know. It would be terrible for their workforce if it didn't though.
Lotus, like the currently badged (Renault) formula one team suggests, may end up existing in name and memory alone. Those memories should be celebrated though, even if that's by a Chinese manufacturer!
I agree. Sometimes we can lose track of the substance behind the headlines, which has until recently been totally focused on Lotus' New Era plan. This was received by many, including myself, as "throwing the baby out with the bath water" and Lotus' credibility in the media and enthusiast communities has yet to recover.
What Dany needed to do was, like a magician, to pull a rabbit from his hat, but with the DRB-HICOM acquisition, he lost momentum and the wild dogs caught up and starting biting at his heels.
But it's easy to forget about the substantial innovations in which Lotus is still a leading player – handling and chassis balance we're all aware of, but likewise their expertise in bonded aluminium structures is now being used by many other car makers, add to that their EV capabilities and experience in composite materials and you realise there's more than a brand name at stake.
What started as justifiable criticism, firstly with their new model plans and then more recently the fears over their parent company's long-term commitment, has steadily gotten out of hand.
As I'll reveal next week, if we're not careful we'll end up punishing Lotus for their mistakes by destroying any chance of a recovery. The media can really be 'that' destructive sometimes..
Steve, Thanks for this opportunity. I am being a little selfish here. Some years ago I worked as a consultant/contractor for Lotus. I ended up in charge of training plus other things in Malaysia.
I proposed a Motorsport University http://www.motorsportuniversitymalaysia.com.
I have spoken to UKti about it plus several Universities.Lotus and Proton are aware of the proposal.
My blog has been viewed recently by people in Westminister.
In view of DRB-Hicom having there own University and the synergies being investigated. Can I assume this project was one of the things discussed when the DRB-Hicom MD and Vince Cable visited Lotus.
I (being selfish again) would be happy to take a lead role if this is the case.
John Mansfield
Thanks for sharing that John, as I am sure you'll appreciate Lotus are currently focused on bringing stability to their core businesses, but I will check and see if DRB-Hicom has discussed the value to them (and the Malaysian car industry) of harvesting the knowledge and expertise within Lotus and their engineering partners here in the UK.
As has already been demonstrate through motorsport, Britain is a world leader in the skills which are central to Lotus' expertise (composite materials, powertrain engineering, etc..) but removing these from the UK's network of partners and suppliers will diminish their value.
Better to use the UK as a hub, cultivating those innovations which the Malaysian or Chinese auto makers can then apply to their own products.
Steve, I can see you have your advisory hat on. I don't think you can keep technology away from the Malaysian's or Chinese. As Lotus is Malaysian owned, and they are supplying the money for investment, they may feel a little peeved if Lotus take that stance.
This would be a for profit venture. Something alien to Lotus in recent years. This would be a global project. I see benefits for the UK and Malaysia. The UK Government are encouraging private education, and encouraging Universities to set up campuses globally.
Many Asians have British Degrees. DRB-Hicom's group managing director Dato' Sri Haji Mohd Khamil Bin Jamil studied in the UK. He has an LLC from University London, and is a Barrister of Law at Grays Inn.
Many of the Malaysian Engineers I worked with had UK Degrees.
I think you'll find that Global OEM's already have Technical Centres set up globally. Lotus have Technical Centres in Asia, as do GM Renault and many others.
I'm pretty sure that GM Renault others share their technology globally.
I don't think this initiative will negatively affect Lotus. I think it would make sense of their huge Motorsport involvement.
Yes, it would be nice if we could keep all the technology in the UK.
John, I appreciate that many global companies locate technology centres in countries like China, Malaysia and Singapore, but this is usually as a concession to native governments in order to establish a presence in such huge and attractive regions. I structured a few deals in China, back in the late '90s and all of them were structured in this way.
There is clearly a case to be made for seperating Lotus Cars from Lotus Engiineering, but I would personally hope that doesn't happen. It may however appease the political agenda, keeping the majority of the workforce in Hethel (building cars) whilst the most leverageable asset could then be used by DRB-Hicom.
There are plenty of scenarios that 'could' work, but it will very much depend on DRB-Hicom and the extent to which Lotus figure in their acquisition plans. The fact that DRB-Hicom’s Group MD has visited the UK is a good sign that he has something in mind, even if that is only the £10.4m regional grant that could be released immediately.
My concern at the moment is that Lotus should be given the best opportunity to influence their own future, but as I will explain in the next few days, this is being undermined by the actions of a few.
I love Lotus and have wanted to own one for as long as I can remember. I think it started when I was a youngster watching The Spy Who Loved Me (or, if I recall correctly, seeing the original Europa in the original Rollerball film) and have had a keen interest ever since.
Sadly, as is the case these days, it's become the norm to attack, criticise and poke fun at things. Not just in the media, but wherever you look. Everyone who knows anything about cars know that Lotus has been struggling for years. Why? I don't think there's a simple answer to it, but I really hope Lotus get through this.
I've ignored the negativity as best I can (I couldn't care less for most of the 'reporting' that goes on these days), but I must admit it's been really confusing trying to work out what's accurate and what's not.
There's more that I'll share with you on Tues/Weds that shows just how problematic 'Chinese Whispers' can be – it is symptomatic of a wider ailment that I'm sure you'll recognise.