Continuing the ongoing saga that has enveloped Lotus over the past couple of weeks, new Proton owner DRB-Hicom has confirmed that it is “open to options” when it comes to the niche sports car maker, including a possible sale.
Syed Mokhtar Al-Bulkhary, the billionaire owner of DRB-Hicom, spoke to reporter for the first time about the purchase of Proton on Wednesday, with many of the questions focused on the future of Lotus. Al-Bulkhary didn’t have any concrete answers, but said his company will be “open to options”.
“We can’t do due diligence on Lotus earlier so will need time to look into Lotus,” he told Automotive News.
DRB-Hicom purchased a 42.7 percent stake in Lotus-parent Proton Holdings earlier this week from the Malaysian government. The company reportedly purchased another 7.7 percent on the open market, bringing the company’s total stake to a controlling 50.4 percent.
Lotus rolled out an ambitious lineup of five all-new vehicles at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, but many questioned the company’s financial ability to actually put those vehicles into production. The low-volume sports car maker currently sells about 2,000 vehicles a year and has never turned a profit under the leadership of Proton.
