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Geely aims for three-month completion of Proton and Lotus purchase

Chinese company has taken a 51 per cent stake in the sports car brand

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Geely has announced that it hopes to have completed its acquisition of the sports car brand Lotus.

In a statement made today, the Chinese manufacturer said that it had signed a final contract which sees it aquire 49.9 per cent of Proton and 51 per cent of Lotus.

Li Shufu, chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Company, said: “As an iconic national brand, Proton epitomises the spirit of Malaysia. Our partnership with DRB-HICOM will enable Proton to become the industry leader in Malaysia and a top three brand in Southeast Asia. We will also continue to expand Lotus’ product portfolio and increase production to further enhance its brand.

Furthermore, the deep regional knowledge we gain from Proton and Lotus through this transformative partnership, coupled with our technological expertise and leadership in innovation, opens the ZGH to become a major player in this ASEAN market and will help us reach our sales targets of three million units by 2020.”

This is the latest acquisition by Geely – China’s seventh-largest car maker – following its purchases of Volvo and London Taxi.

It is not clear yet whether or not Lotus or Proton cars will be manufactured in the UK or China.

The company has previous form in transforming the fortunes of stalling companies. It has overseen an extensive refresh of the Volvo line-up, and also created Lynk & Co, an all-new automotive brand designed to sit between the Geely’s own range of cars and Volvo.

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