Lotus To Change Engine Supplier
Lotus Evora GT (Image: Lotus Cars)
Reuters reported today that Volvo and parent company Geely will merge combustion engine operations. They write:
Volvo Cars will merge its engine development and manufacturing assets with those of parent company Geely, creating a division to supply in-house brands Lotus, LEVC, Lynk and Proton, and also potential rivals with next-generation combustion and hybrid engines.
This makes strong business sense as we head into an era in which combustion engine development is getting increasingly expensive and, hopefully, decreasing in sales volume as electric vehicle sales ramp up. I think we can expect to see more legacy technology mergers like this throughout the industry as time goes on.
Note, however, that Lotus, recently acquired by Geely, is listed as a user of these engines. This will mark a significant change for the UK-based company which, in recent years, has relied on Toyota as an engine supplier. It would be reasonable to speculate that the changeover will happen as the current Elise, Exige, and Evora models end their lifecycles and are replaced with new models funded by Geely’s deep pockets.
