The passion among China’s wealthy for flashy sports cars is encouraging Malaysia’s auto manufacturer, Proton Holdings Berhad, to manufacture the iconic English-designed Lotus marque in China.
Proton owns 100% of Lotus, founded by British aircraft engineer Colin Chapman in 1948 and still manufactured in England. But Proton adviser Mahathir Mohamad, the former Malaysian prime minister, said last week that 150 Lotus cars were sold in China last year and that it’s time the company started production there. Such a move would also provide an opening for Proton to manufacture its own line of family cars in China.
