British sports car brand Lotus could be about to turn French.
Malaysian corporation DRB-Hicom is reportedly looking to sell both Lotus and its Proton brand that remain only fringe players in the automotive industry. There are no shortage of interested buyers with French PSA Group (owners of Peugeot-Citroen), Renault and Suzuki all reportedly interested in taking over the two brands.
"Peugeot confirms it is responding to a request for proposals initiated by Proton and its shareholder DRB-Hicom," a spokesman for the company told Reuters.
The news of the potential sale comes just a few months after Lotus confirmed an all-new Elise is due to arrive in 2020 and the brand is on track to make a profit for the first time in 20 years.
A deal with PSA Group with give the French firm the opportunity to expand into sports cars at the same time Renault gets ready to revive its Alpine brand. The addition of Proton would also open new opportunities in Asia and at the lower end of the market currently not covered by Peugeot or Citroen.
A Renault takeover would be opportune given its plans for Alpine and could potentially allow the brand to share platforms across the two sports car brands. Alpine is due to re-launch with a two-seat sports car aimed at the Porsche Cayman and Alfa Romeo 4C.
Lotus has had a tumultuous recent past highlighted by former CEO Dany Bahar's bold attempt to re-position the brand as a rival to Ferrari and Porsche with six all-new models between 2010 and 2015. That plan turned out to be short-lived and Proton took more direct control over the brand and has focused on updated the existing Elise, Exige and Evora models.
Earlier in 2016 Lotus Cars Australia distribution was taken over by Sydney-based Simply Sports Cars, one of the brand's largest dealerships.
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