7:29 am, June 26, 2026
Lotus’ new Hethel Performance Hub has been opened by industry minister Chris McDonald MP at the firm’s famous Norfolk headquarters.
The new centre has been created to bring engineering, manufacturing and testing together on a single site, allowing Lotus and a growing number of partner companies to develop and manufacture vehicles from Hethel.
The launch marks a key stage in the development of the hub, with engineering and manufacturing programmes already underway and several automotive businesses signing up to base projects at the Norfolk site.
Among the first companies to commit is Charge Holdings, which is relocating its full operations – including Charge Cars and wider group vehicle programmes – to Hethel.
Zenos Cars has also signed a deal with Lotus with a view to producing vehicles at the Hethel Performance Hub in future while DR Automobiles has been confirmed as a partner too.
The site forms part of a wider programme of investment in the Hethel area with road improvements delivered by local councils.
Guests at the official opening were shown a display of Lotus vehicles and previous collaborative engineering projects, including the Lotus 100T Formula 1 car, Clark Edition Emira, Emira 420 Sport, Evija electric hypercar, Tesla Roadster and Vauxhall VX220.
McDonald – pictured above with Lotus Cars’ Michael Mastin, senior production director, and Matt Nice, deputy managing director – also toured the engineering, manufacturing and testing facilities.
He then drove the 2,011hp Lotus Evija, which is hand-built alongside the Emira at the company’s Hethel headquarters.
He said: ‘The UK is a top investment destination, and the new Hethel Performance Hub underlines our global edge in innovative, high value manufacturing across the automotive and motorsport sector.
‘This facility showcases the best of British industry, will drive stronger supply chains, create highly skilled jobs and help make the UK the best place in the world to design, build and export vehicles.’
Matt Nice, deputy managing director at Lotus Cars, added: ‘It was a pleasure to welcome the minister to the Hethel Performance Hub and on behalf of Lotus, I would like to thank the Government for their support, interest and future commitment to helping us grow the advanced engineering capability in the region.’
