Geely to start making Lotus cars in Wuhan

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group will start producing cars under British sports car brand Lotus in China at a 9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) factory in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province, according to Reuters, citing company job advertisements and government documents.

It will be the Chinese carmaker's first move to shake up Lotus since its purchase of a 51-percent stake in 2017 from Malaysian carmaker Proton as part of a package deal with its parent company DRB-Hicom. Geely vowed then to "bring it into a new phase of development by expanding and accelerating the rolling out of new products and technologies."

Lotus cars are currently built in the United Kingdom. In a statement to China Daily on Thursday, Geely said: "Lotus Cars is undergoing an exciting resurgence with the backing of Geely, and expanding the brand's manufacturing footprint globally is a key part of the company's strategy. Details on additional locations and models will be confirmed in due course."