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A majority stake in Proton is to be sold to Volkswagen, according to Asian business reports, passing control not only of the Malaysian state-owned car-maker to VW, but also of British sports car-maker Lotus.
Autocar's sources suggest that VW is to take a 51 per cent stake in Proton, which it will confirm in an announcement to the press on February 8. Proton, in turn, has owned an 80 per cent stake of Group Lotus, the company within which Lotus Cars operates, since 1996. The sale would therefore leave Hethel's best-known brand firmly under the control of Wolfsburg from now on.
The sale of Proton has been mooted since the middle of last year. Various bidders have been linked with its acquisition, including General Motors and PSA Peugeot-Citroen.
The implications that the sale might have for Lotus will remain unclear until the sale is made public.
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