Geely appoints Daniel Donghui Li as Lotus chairman

KUALA LUMPUR: China’s Zhejiang Geely Holdings Group has appointed its Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer Daniel Donghui Li as Chairman of British sports car maker Lotus.

Zhejiang Geely, in a statement yesterday, said the appointment was made upon completion of the 51 per cent majority stake acquisition in Lotus Advance Technologies Sdn Bhd with the remaining 49 per cent stake being held by Malaysia’s Etika Automotive Sdn Bhd.

Li said with the completion of the transaction, the company could now look forward to work with its partners to develop the Lotus brand into a globally competitive brand and a well recognised leader in the sports car market.

“We are extremely confident that Lotus will go above and beyond the expectations of the automotive industry and consumer base in the near future,” he said.

Following the completion of the transaction, Zhejiang Geely also has appointed its Auto VicePresident and Chief Technology OfficerFeng Qing Feng and its Vice-President of International Business and Executive Advisor to the President at Geely Holding Nathan Yu Ning as Lotus board members.

On the other hand, Etika has appointed Datuk Sharil Tarmizi, a corporate consultant and a long-term supporter of technology companies, to the Lotus board and would announced a further addition to the board in due course. Meanwhile, Lotus Chief Executive Officer Jean-Marc Gales would remain in his position that he held since joining the company in 2014.

Gales said following a successful business turnaround, the Lotus brand is in a stronger position and is now perfectly positioned for growth.

He said Lotus was producing the best cars in its history and was currently developing next generation of sports luxury vehicles, demonstrating its brand values of class-leading vehicle dynamics, light weighting, styling and aerodynamics by leveraging Geely Holding’s global strengths and resources. — Bernama