We’ve followed Lotus’ story since 2009 when it took on ex-Ferrari designer Donato Coco, as well as their former sales executive, Dany Bahar. It all looked rather promising from where we stood, with Bahar being quoted in January 2009 having said, “We have a very busy few years ahead of us as we are working on a new strategic business plan which will include the introduction of an all-new range of Lotus cars and expansion of our third party design work.”
Since then, however, Lotus has been on a slippery slope. In June, Lotus dismissed Bahar with immediate. One month later, in July, Lotus withdrew from the Paris Motor Show and later that same month, announced plans to scrap five new models. In August, Bahar filed a lawsuit against Lotus’ owners, DRB-Hicom for unfair dismisal. In the midst of it all, DRB-Hicom pressed the ‘pause’ button on Lotus’ operations in an effort to halt spending. Finally, in October, DRB-Hicom’s CEO, Aslam Farikullah, announced the company had no plans to sell Lotus and that, “We have to be realistic and get the basic fundamentals of the business right. Then we will look at the next products. We are excited about the future and plan to grow the business.”
It seems that part of Lotus’ future includes resolving past issues, which is worth £2.5-million according to the lawsuit that Lotus filed against Bahar on Friday. Lotus claims Bahar was overpaid and incurred unauthorized expenses that included: a chauffeur; repairs to two houses; along with helicopter and private jet rentals. The filing claims Bahar did an “abysmal” job in his position of CEO, as the former executive was “excessively extravagant” and “preoccupied with his own interests.” In addition to allegations of excessive spending, Lotus claim Bahar made damaging statements to the media and breached his contractual duties as a director.
It’s a thorny issue for everyone and one that we hope will be resolved as soon as possible. After all, at the heart of the matter is a company that produces great sports cars and helps other manufacturers to do the same. As Jack Nicholson once said, “Why can’t we all just get along?”
