Lotus to Show Profit by 2017: CEO

Lotus plans to be back in the black by 2017.

The company’s CEO, Jean-Marc Gales, believes the British automaker will be profitable by 2017 after years of losing money. Since taking over the company in 2014, Gales has implemented measures to cut costs and improve the company’s offerings, while increasing sales in the short term by making changes to its current three-car lineup. The automaker also doesn’t plan on launching any new models until its crossover debuts in 2018 or 2019, which will be built at an all-new factory in China.

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In addition, Lotus is looking forward to its return to the U.S. with the revamped Evora 400 model that debuted at this year’s Geneva Motor Show. The company redesigned the sports car so that it would meet U.S. standards and Gales expects the U.S. to become the Evora’s largest market.

Other changes that Gales has made since taking the helm include switching suppliers to cut costs while 260 jobs were cut at the company’s headquarters. He also does not expect that the engineering side of the business will grow for another three to four years and as a result, has scaled back Lotus Engineering. The CEO also aims to increase Lotus dealerships to 200 by the end of the year, from 174 at the end of March.

[Source: Automotive News Europe]

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