Lotus Reports First Operating Profit Since 1970s

Lotus is on track to deliver its first annual operating profit since the 1970s following a profitable August thanks in part to the Evora 400’s recent sales successes in the U.S.

Since the Evora 400 landed in the United States in August, it has been sold out until March 2017. Alongside the popularity of this model, the British-based automaker has dropped its workforce from 1200 employees in May 2014 to 800 employees today. Despite the reduction of its workforce, production now sits at over 2,000 units annually compared to the fewer than 1,400 cars that were built in mid-2014.

Speaking with Auto Express, Lotus chief executive Jean-Marc Gales said “Not since the Chapman era has the car side of Lotus turned an operating profit. Today we have approximately 800 employees producing over 2000 cars a year, all of which are of a much higher quality than before. And we are also now selling top quality cars in the United States, where they seem to understand and connect with our cars nowadays.”

Soon after Gales took over the helm of Lotus two years ago, he announced that rather than focusing on developing all-new models, the company would instead build a selection of new limited edition models. It has done just that, most recently with the Exige Sport 380.

In the coming years, there’s a strong possibility Lotus sales may receive another significant boost with the arrival of a compact SUV.