Phil Popham steps down at Lotus Cars

(Hethel, UK – 28 January 2021) – Phil Popham is to step down from his position as Lotus Cars CEO.

Phil, who joined Lotus in the year of its 70th birthday in 2018, has decided to leave the company to pursue personal projects.

He has guided the company through a truly pivotal period in its history, bringing new governance and direction to the business following its restructuring under the stewardship of Geely.

Lotus Cars’ Vision80 strategy has been implemented under Phil’s watch, which will see transformational change across the company in its eighth decade of automotive innovation.  Hethel in Norfolk – Lotus’ home and headquarters since 1966 – has undergone a complete transformation with unprecedented investment during Phil’s tenure, with wholesale upgrades across the site, a new sports car factory and hypercar assembly now ready for operation.

In 2019, Phil spearheaded the launch of the Lotus Evija – the world’s first all-electric British hypercar. In his own words, he described Evija as “a calling card for what is to come from Lotus in the next decade. It signals a new tech future, a new design direction and a new dawn for our 70-year-old-start-up.”

Phil also guided the company through an extremely difficult year in 2020, carefully managing Lotus’ approach and strategy in response to the pandemic as it has continued to disrupt much of the world. The business has entered 2021 very much on track and intact, despite the significant challenges of the past 12 months.

Phil will now spend some time passing the baton on to the next phase of the Lotus story. The Lotus Cars family around the world – US LOT – wishes Phil every success in his future endeavours.

Ends

Notes to Editors
For more information please contact the Lotus Communications team:

James Andrew, Executive Director, PR and Communications
jandrew@lotuscars.com
+44 (0) 7384 830903

Rob Borrett, PR Manager, Product and Digital Content
rborrett@lotuscars.com
+44 (0) 7718 560789

Alastair Florance, Group PR Manager
aflorance@lotuscars.co.uk
+ 44 (0) 7802 918662

Samantha Thomas, PR Officer, Product Press & Digital Media
sthomas2@lotuscars.com
+44 (0) 7909 813785

Richard Yarrow, PR Manager, News and Technology
ryarrow@lotuscars.com
+44 (0) 7471 994525

 

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About Lotus

Group Lotus is based in Hethel, Norfolk, UK. It is part of Geely Automotive, the fastest growing automotive group in the world. Geely has a 51% controlling stake, with 49% owned by Etika Automotive, a Malaysian conglomerate.

Lotus Cars builds world-class, high-performance sports cars including the Evora, Elise and Exige ranges. In July 2019 it launched the Evija, the world’s first all-electric British hypercar. Production will start in 2021.

Lotus Engineering provides a comprehensive consultancy service which works with many of the world's OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. It is internationally recognised for its long-standing contribution to ground-breaking automotive engineering and vehicle development.