They want to start of by adding electrification to Lotus's future plan. From a Bloomberg report:
Lotus could be next on the list, providing essential engineering skills as Geely ramps up production at home and abroad. Under such a benign owner, quirky Lotus could thrive.
Lotus has a longstanding association with electric vehicles. The company built and helped engineer the very first Tesla, the Roadster, in 2008. The Roadster was based on Lotus’s groundbreaking Elise.
The reputation for great engineering and innovative design, as well as skill in using materials once considered exotic—aluminum, fiberglass, and carbon fiber—allowed Lotus to launch a consulting business. The company contracted with larger manufacturers to cut weight, tune suspensions, curb emissions, and improve aerodynamics. The aluminum chassis of the Aston Martin DB9, for instance, was substantially engineered by Lotus.
Chapman’s original credo—“To add speed, add lightness”—is now finding renewed relevance, even if his rule-flouting, risk-taking ways are no longer standard procedure.
Electric cars could be a fantastic opportunity. But, Gales said, it has to be a Lotus—lightweight and able to handle corners alongside any great sports car.
“In two or three years, battery cars will be much higher performing than they are currently because technology moves on,” he said. “It could be a really good thing to be the first one to do an electric car that doesn’t weigh two tons.”
If you want to know more about Geely's plans with Lotus, Bloomberg offers a very good read. If you want the short version, Geely is basically just writing checks to the Swedes so they can do whatever they want with the cars to help make them more modern and relevant.
