Lotus is promoting Chinese executive Mao Jingbo to oversee UK and global operations after current Lotus Europe head Matt Windle was let go by the company, sources have told Autocar.
Windle is leaving after just four months as Lotus Europe CEO, a source told Autocar.
Windle’s departure comes after Autocar reported that Lotus was considering moving sports car manufacturing out of the UK amid a wider cost-cutting drive aimed at overturning persistent losses. The proposals included moving manufacturing from its historic base in Hethel, Norfolk, after holding talks with the Labour government.
Windle’s job will be taken over by Mao, two sources told Autocar.
Mao joined Lotus in 2022 as president of China operations after moving from Lincoln, where she was head of Asia Pacific and China for the US premium brand. Prior to that, she was head of marketing in China for Mercedes-Benz after building a career in journalism.
Lotus has yet to confirm the news and declined to give Autocar a comment.
Mao (below) will become the fourth executive in under two years with oversight of Lotus’s UK and wider European operations. Windle took over from Dan Balmer in April after the former Aston Martin executive stayed less than a year in the role. His predecessor, former Volvo executive Mike Johnstone, left in August 2024.
Windle joined Lotus in 2017 as head of body engineering and rose to oversee production at Hethel before taking on the Europe CEO role.
Lotus’s decision to appoint a company insider close to CEO Feng Qingfeng to a key European and global role indicates the company wants to keep a tighter rein on its global operations.
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