Lotus Engg plans to set up local base

The UK-based Lotus Engineering, the design and engineering arm of Group Lotus, is planning to establish a 'commercial presence' in India in the next 12-18 months.

A team from the company's office in UK has visited India to collect first-hand information on the automotive segment and engineering skills available here. If the design outfit sets up base in India, it would be first major foreign automobile design firm to do so in the country.

Without giving details, a Lotus spokesperson in Malaysia said the group had already bagged two major mandates from the Indian automobile industry in the last 12 months.

The company officials also said that it is the initial study of the engineering skills in India was very encouraging and the growing automobile market in India augurs well for the engineering division of Group Lotus to open shop in India.

Lotus Engineering is part of the Malaysian car maker Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd (Proton) and is headquartered in Hethel (Norwich) in UK. The company's global footprints includes engineering, design and development teams in the UK, Malaysia, United States, China and Germany.

The group's commercial presence in China was started in March this year. The group also has a automotive division (Lotus cars) that manufacturers high end sports cars.

A Siam delegation that visited Malaysia recently said that Lotus officials in Malaysia made a detailed presentation of their service offerings which includes engineering and design services for the automobile industry. Siam officials said the apex automobile lobbying agency has been requested by Lotus to find a local partner in India.

Lotus Engineering employs over 1,000 engineers and technicians worldwide. The engineering division offers services, capable of taking a project from initial concept and product design, through development, testing and prototype building.