Lotus To Stop Manufacturing Cars In the UK?

Lotus is reportedly shifting its manufacturing plant from the United Kingdom to the United States of America. The UK plant has been instructed by the management in China to prepare for the end of production, sources told Autocar UK. Lotus has been building cars in Hethel since 1966. 

The plant in Hethel primarily produces the Emira sports car (priced in India at ₹3.22 crore), and its production has been halted since mid-May due to the increase in tariffs in key markets like the USA. Instead, Lotus wants to build cars in the USA to circumvent the tariffs. Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng said in the company’s latest earnings call that “We believe that localisation is a feasible plan. We are trying to leverage our US strategy to catch up on the losses due to the tariff hike.”

While Lotus hasn’t commented on the move to the USA, it did say that it has discussed the move with its strategic partners, without naming who they were. It seems possible that Lotus could use Volvo’s plant in South Carolina to build the Emira in the USA. Why Volvo? Because Volvo and Lotus are both owned by the Chinese firm Geely. 

Lotus has been witnessing a decline in demand recently, as its sales fell by 42 per cent in the first quarter of 2025. Demand for luxury EVs is falling worldwide, and Lotus’ Eletre and Emeya have also taken a hit. The USA was also a big market for luxury EVs, but the country’s new 100 per cent tariffs on China-built EVs have forced Lotus to stop selling the Eletre there. For reference, the two EVs are built by Lotus Technology in Wuhan, China. 

The brand is also focusing on building plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, with the first model likely to be the Eletre PHEV. It will first go on sale in China next year, followed by other countries later.