28 January 2021

Phil Popham is to step down from his position as Lotus Cars CEO.

Phil, who joined Lotus in the year of its 70th birthday in 2018, has decided to leave the company to pursue personal projects.

He has guided the company through a truly pivotal period in its history, bringing new governance and direction to the business following its restructuring under the stewardship of Geely.

Lotus Cars’ Vision80 strategy has been implemented under Phil’s watch, which will see transformational change across the company in its eighth decade of automotive innovation. Hethel in Norfolk – Lotus’ home and headquarters since 1966 – has undergone a complete transformation with unprecedented investment during Phil’s tenure, with wholesale upgrades across the site, a new sports car factory and hypercar assembly now ready for operation.

In 2019, Phil spearheaded the launch of the Lotus Evija – the world’s first all-electric British hypercar. In his own words, he described Evija as “a calling card for what is to come from Lotus in the next decade. It signals a new tech future, a new design direction and a new dawn for our 70-year-old-start-up.”

Phil also guided the company through an extremely difficult year in 2020, carefully managing Lotus’ approach and strategy in response to the pandemic as it has continued to disrupt much of the world. The business has entered 2021 very much on track and intact, despite the significant challenges of the past 12 months.

Phil will now spend some time passing the baton on to the next phase of the Lotus story. The Lotus Cars family around the world – US LOT – wishes Phil every success in his future endeavours.