Lotus’ plan to build an SUV isn’t exactly a tightly kept secret these days. In fact, Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales has repeatedly alluded to the company’s plans to have an SUV serve as its mass-market model to complement the range of sports cars it has in its portfolio. The latest news on this front comes by way of Bernama, Malaysia’s national news agency, which is reporting that Lotus’ new production facility is expected to begin construction by the end of 2016, essentially putting into motion the automaker’s long-term plan of launching the yet-to-be-named SUV by 2019.
The plant, which will be co-developed by Proton, Group Lotus and Goldstar Heavy Industrial, will be located in Guangzhou, China and will reportedly cost as much as $1.5 billion. Among other things, the site will eventually include a headquarters, presumably to be used by Lotus, as well as production facilities and a research and development center. Guangzhou Development and Reform Commission Deputy Director Wang Ke Si old Bernama that the site itself is still under development and will need the approval of “ministries, National Development and Reform Commission and other related commissions.”
It’s been said that Lotus is targeting China as the primary market for its SUV, although Gales also mentioned in the past that the model will hit other key markets all over the world, including the U.S. A design for the SUV is still currently being worked on and from past statements, Lotus is keen on coming up with a design that doesn’t exist in the automotive world yet.
For now, the primary objective is to begin construction of the production facility that will eventually be the production home of the SUV. All signs seem to point to the automaker receiving all the necessary approvals within the year, giving all relevant parties enough time to begin the construction of the facility by the end of 2016.
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