Proton Holdings, parent company of Lotus Cars signed this month an agreement with Goldstar Heavy Industrial Co. in order to start building Lotus-brand cars in Quanzhou, China.
There is literally zero further info on the matter apart from a quote on the same report from Automotive News China which apparently comes from the Quanzhou local government’s website:
“Proton Holdings Bhd., Malaysia’s state-controlled carmaker, will build Lotus-brand vehicles in the east China port city of Quanzhou with China’s Goldstar Heavy Industrial Co”.
The report continues on saying that the new plant will produce vehicles and engines, according to Quanzhou government’s website. If any Mandarin-speaking reader wants to contribute, head to the local government’s website and help us by leaving a comment below.
Proton has been trying to build cars in China for a long time but so far, joint ventures with either Hawtai Motor Group Co. or China Youngman Automobile Group Co. have failed. Goldstar Heavy Industrial Co. is a manufacturer of light buses and machine tools, based in Dongguan.
At this point we can’t know for sure if Lotus is to build Evoras, Elises and Exiges on Chinese ground or if Proton plans other Lotus-branded vehicles aimed specifically for that market.
We’ve reached Lotus for more information and we’ll keep you updated when we get an official comment on the story.