Coming on the back of a series of announcements around its Evija electric hypercar, Lotus has revealed it is to undertake a host of upgrades to its Hethel factory site in Norfolk, UK, in order to boost the capabilities of its consultancy arm, Lotus Engineering.
Site enhancements will include the installation of numerous new and upgraded engineering test facilities. These will encompass a new electric drive unit (EDU) test cell, plus upgrades to the company’s ICE test and development cells, its propulsion prototype build workshop and the vehicle emissions lab. In the case of the latter, the company says new equipment has been added to allow engineers to test and validate vehicles to the latest emissions standards, not just for the UK and Europe but for all international markets.
Matt Windle, executive director of engineering at Lotus, commented, “We see huge potential to put Lotus Engineering right at the cutting edge of automotive innovation, further building on our core competencies as well as increasing our capability in growth areas. An example is electrification. The challenges around weight reduction and improved dynamics are a major factor in the quest for more efficient electric vehicles, and these link back directly to the Lotus core values. What we continue to learn on the Lotus Evija all-electric hypercar program creates knowledge and experience that we can use to help other businesses.”
