April
Fool's joke: Lotus sold to Tata !
A shock
news was unveiled just this morning: Lotus has been sold by Proton to
another
Asian car maker, Tata of India. At an untold price, Proton sold all its
80% stakes in Lotus to Tata yesterday. Spokesman of Lotus said the deal
includes both the car division and the engineering division of Lotus in
Norfolk and Hethel, though not including the engineering arm in USA,
which
will be still owned by Proton. Tata is the largest car maker in India.
It produces mostly trucks and commercial vehicles but also small econo
cars and off-roaders. The previously state-owned car maker is one of
the
biggest potential buyers for Lotus, after GM and Ford refused to do so.
It is
believed
the sale was
due to heavy loss of the British company, amount to some £42.6
million
last year and an expected loss as well this year. Proton was also
disappointed
that Lotus was not helpful enough in improving the sales performance of
its own cars - the Lotus-developed Proton Impian was selling badly in
Europe.
As Malaysia is to join WTO, Proton needs cash to improve its own
production
facilities and sales networks to compete with foreign car makers.
It is known
that
the sudden
departure of Lotus CEO Terry Playle last month was due to his objection
to the proposal. Playle’s position will be substituted by ex-Formula 1
champion and team owner Jackie Stewart, who is appointed by Tata. It is
known that Stewart was chosen because he is a highly-respected figure
in
Britain and was proved to be a successful leader in the
highly-competitive
F1 business, this should help Lotus overcoming its big difficulties
currently
facing.
Stewart was
first
linked
to Tata a year ago when he started advising the development and tuning
of a secret Tata roadster, after his contract with Ford expired in late
2000. The 1.6-litre roadster will be fully built in India and hit UK as
well as Europe in 18 month’s time at an estimated price of just
£9,500.
It is believed that the purchase of Lotus will let Tata using the
resources
of Lotus Engineering to fine tune the roadster and sort out its
handling
problems. In before, parent company Proton used to reject any works for
its potential rivals.
Employing
Stewart
also led
to the speculation that Lotus - if not Tata - may be back to Formula
One
racing. Stewart clearly ruled out this possibility. However, spy
photographers
recently caught him testing an open-wheeled prototype in Brands Hatch,
confirming that both Lotus and the 3-time world champion may once again
compete in Formula One. Stewart is 64 this year.
While
keeping
tight-lip about
Formula One, he did admit that Lotus will transfer its technology
know-how
to Tata, such as the hydrogen-powered hybrid engine (a 1.1-litre turbo
3-cylinder good for 750hp) under development. In the long-term future,
a nuclear-powered Tata 3-wheeler truck is also possible, said the
ex-Formula
One champion.
"I remind
you,
everything
is possible on the 1st of April, especially in AutoZine !" he said.
(not Tata,
it’s Haha
!!!
the following News are real however .... - Ed.)
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