Lotus cars are made by Group Lotus PLC, a British automotive company founded by Colin Chapman in 1952 and based in Hethel, Norfolk, England.
Since 2017, Lotus has been majority owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, the Chinese automotive conglomerate that also owns Volvo Cars, Polestar, ZEEKR, and holds a significant stake in Mercedes-Benz’s parent company.
The Hethel factory in Norfolk remains the production site for Lotus sports cars including the Emira, the last combustion-engined Lotus, and the hypercars like the Evija electric hypercar.
Lotus’s electric lifestyle vehicles, including the Eletre electric SUV and the Emeya electric grand tourer, are manufactured in Wuhan, China, at facilities operated by Lotus Technology Inc., the brand’s separately listed Chinese entity.
In 2025, Geely exercised a put option to transfer its stake in Lotus UK to Lotus Technology Inc., with the full integration of all Lotus operations under one corporate entity expected to complete in 2025 or 2026.
Lotus Engineering, the consultancy arm based at Hethel, provides engineering and development services to numerous global automakers and tier-one suppliers, making Hethel an important global automotive engineering hub beyond just car production.
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Who Owns Lotus Cars?
Group Lotus PLC has been majority owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group since 2017, when the Hangzhou-based Chinese conglomerate acquired a controlling stake. Before Geely, Lotus had passed through a succession of owners including General Motors, Romano Artioli, and Malaysian automaker Proton.
Geely’s ownership has been transformational for Lotus. The company received significant investment, launched its first-ever SUV (the Eletre), its first grand tourer (the Emeya), and its first genuinely mass-production-capable sports car (the Emira). None of these would have been financially feasible without Geely’s capital injection.
Lotus Technology Inc. is a separate Geely-linked entity listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker LOT. It handles the Chinese-manufactured electric vehicle side of the Lotus lineup and is in the process of acquiring full ownership of the UK sports car operations to unify the brand under one structure.
Where Are Lotus Cars Made?
The Lotus Emira, the Evija electric hypercar, and other traditional Lotus sports and performance cars are built at the Hethel factory in Norfolk, England, where Lotus has been based since 1966. The site includes a test track, engineering facilities, and the assembly plant.
The Lotus Eletre electric SUV and Emeya electric hyper GT are manufactured in Wuhan, China. These vehicles are built on different platforms than the Hethel cars and are developed primarily by Chinese engineering teams, though they carry the Lotus brand and design DNA.
The physical and cultural divide between the English sports car operations and the Chinese EV operations has been one of the most discussed aspects of Lotus’s transformation under Geely ownership.
What Is the History of Lotus Cars?
Colin Chapman founded Lotus Engineering in 1952 in London, initially building lightweight racing cars from surplus parts. His philosophy of “adding lightness” became the defining principle of every Lotus ever built.
Lotus’s Formula 1 teams won seven Constructors Championships between 1958 and 1994, with legendary drivers including Jim Clark, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, and Ayrton Senna behind the wheel. The black and gold John Player Special livery Lotus cars of the 1970s and 1980s are among the most iconic racing cars ever built.
Chapman died suddenly in 1982 at age 54, and Lotus struggled through financial difficulties for decades afterward. General Motors owned a stake briefly in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The brand eventually stabilized under Malaysian ownership through Proton before Geely’s acquisition changed its trajectory entirely.
Lotus Emira: The Last Combustion-Engined Lotus
The Lotus Emira, launched in 2022 and built at Hethel, is positioned as the final internal combustion engine sports car Lotus will ever make. The company has committed to being a fully electric brand beyond the Emira.
The Emira is available with two engine options: a Toyota-sourced 3.5-liter supercharged V6 and a four-cylinder turbocharged unit developed with AMG, which is a Mercedes-Benz subsidiary. Both versions produce well over 400 horsepower in a lightweight British sports car body.
The Emira competes with the Porsche Cayman, Aston Martin Vantage entry variants, and Ferrari entry-level models. It represents Lotus’s best chance to capture buyers who want a traditional analog sports car experience before the brand goes fully electric. For other British car brand origins, see Who Makes Land Rover and Who Makes Bentley.
Frequently Asked Questions About Who Makes Lotus Cars
Is Lotus a Chinese brand now?
Lotus is a British brand owned by a Chinese company. The brand was founded in England in 1952, its sports car factory remains in Hethel, Norfolk, and its engineering heritage is entirely British. Geely, a Chinese conglomerate, holds majority ownership, but Lotus’s identity, design language, and Hethel factory are British.
Where is the Lotus Emira made?
The Lotus Emira is made at the Hethel factory in Norfolk, England, the same site where Lotus has built its sports cars since 1966. The Eletre and Emeya electric models, by contrast, are made in Wuhan, China.
Does Lotus still make Formula 1 cars?
The original Lotus F1 team that Chapman built ceased operations in 1994. There have been various later teams that used the Lotus name under licensing arrangements, but the current Group Lotus under Geely ownership does not operate an F1 team. The Lotus name in F1 today carries mostly historical significance rather than active racing operations by the car manufacturer.
I am Jack Neel, a mechanical engineer, researcher, and writer. I created this website to share my knowledge about different brands and products with you. I research the manufacturers behind the brands and provide you with the information you need to make smart buying decisions.