Luxury car maker Lotus mulls moving out of Britain

Oct 01, 2010 |

IANS

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Luxury car firm Lotus is considering to move its car production out of Britain, a step that could threaten 1,200 new British jobs.

The Sun Friday reported that the car company based in Norfolk had asked the government for a 40 million pound loan to upgrade its factory so that it could build five new models.

Lotus - owned by Malaysian company Proton - unveiled its latest Esprit, Elite, Elise, Elan and Eterne models at the Paris International Motor Show.

It was forecast that the expansion of the plant at Hethel, near Norwich, would translate into 1,200 more jobs within the next 18 months.

However, the loan has been refused and the company officials are now considering moving to Central Europe.

Lotus chief Dany Bahar said he was disappointed at the government for not supporting the firm's loan request and that it was "more advantageous" to relocate.

"Lotus cars are British cars and we want to build them in Norfolk if we build abroad the jobs will go abroad," he was quoted as saying.

The Department for Business Innovation said that it had been in talks with Lotus over a loan request.

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