Geneva show: Lotus to reveal updated Evora

STRUGGLING sportscar maker Lotus has announced that it will unveil an “exciting” model at the Geneva Motor Show in March, widely tipped to be a lighter, more powerful version of the V6 Evora, While Lotus is yet to officially reveal what the Geneva show car will be, the company said in a statement that it will “remain true to its core pillars of lightness, performance and driving purity by embodying all of them in a most desirable package”.

The low-key show debut is another step along the path to recovery for the iconic British brand, which, under new boss and former PSA Peugeot-Citroen head Jean-Marc Gales, shed 300 of its 1200 employees last year in an effort to stem massive losses.

The current Lotus line-up of Elise, Exige and Evora has been in place for some time, and as the company continues to trim costs and add to its dealer base, future launches will be limited to updated versions of these cars.

Mr Gales’ management style is a far cry from that of his predecessor Dany Baha, whose desire for rapid expansion and additional models – including an Esprit supercar and a rally version of the Exige – brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy.

Mr Baha settled a claim for unfair dismissal against the company out of court in May last year.

The company – now owned by Malaysian industrial conglomerate DRB-Hicom – has been expanding its worldwide dealer network, adding 25 over the past nine months with another 50 planned by the end of 2015. This will bring the total number of dealers to 213.

The British sportscar-maker is also reporting a sales increase of 54 per cent year-over-year with a total of 1,565 units sold worldwide in 2014. This represents an increase of 551 units over the company's 2013 global haul.

Group Lotus chief executive officer Jean-Marc Gales said last year's sales growth proves that the company's latest strategies are working.

“Our sales growth and dealer expansion is performing to plan and demonstrates the confidence that our customers have in Lotus,” he said. “The positive reception that all our new Lotus cars are receiving in both new and established markets shows that our product development strategy is heading in the right direction.” In Australia Lotus sold just 61 cars in 2014, a 14 per cent drop of ten units from the previous year. Of that total, 23 were for the Elise and 29 went to the Exige, while just nine Australians took delivery of an Evora last year.