Proton To Tap Chinese Billionaires For Lotus Sales

From Noor Soraya Jamal BEIJING (China), Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's leading automotive manufacture Proton Holdings Bhd hopes to tap the strong appetite of Chinese billionaires for luxury brands, and sell up to 400 units of the Lotus sport car in China. Proton Holdings Bhd is the 100 per cent shareholder of the British sports car. Group managing director Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said it is timely for Lotus to enter the Chinese market, and as the network of dealers expands, demand for Lotus sport cars will grow accordingly. He was speaking to reporters at the grand opening of Lotus China's first showroom and the debut of the Lotus T123 and Evora GTE here on Wednesday night. Syed Zainal said he believes the Lotus sport will be able to penetrate the strong Chinese market and the country will eventually become a very big outlet for it. "We need to seize the opportunity now. Before this, Lotus relied on Europe, the United States and Japan for sales but China is now the biggest market for cars globally. "The Chinese appetite for luxury brands is very strong and they are willing to spend to be different," he added. He said with the Lotus turnaround plan that focuses on producing better cars in the future and improving volume, not being in China would be wrong. Syed Zainal said timing is very important and Lotus has the visibility for what products it has for now and in the future. "This gives a lot of confidence, excitement and belief in the brand. The second factor is finding the right partner. "The people we're working with here now have the experience of building luxury brands such as Bentley, Lamborghini and the Rolls Royce. We have a partner who is willing to work for long term," he added. Meanwhile, the Evora GTE which is an upgraded version of the Evora in terms of performance and styling. "It's even more lighter and powerful and was unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show two months ago," Syed Zainal said. The second model, the T125 is basically a Formula 1 car that is supposed to be driven like a normal vehicle. "It's not a car that you want to sell to any customer. What Lotus wants to offer to people willing to pay, is a car that looks and performs like a Formula 1 vehicle, but easier to handle and minus the sophistication. -- BERNAMA