Business Secretary, Vince Cable, visited Group Lotus in Hethel, Norfolk today as part of a visit to East Anglia, highlighting the breadth and depth of engineering and manufacturing expertise in the area.
As well as seeing the car production facilities and meeting apprentices, Mr Cable also had a ride in the zero emission fuel cell taxi. Lotus Engineering has been closely involved in the development of the project with LTi and TRW Conekt, packaging the propulsion technology and designing controls to optimise performance of both the fuel cells and electric drive systems.
“Lotus is a great example of a UK niche vehicle manufacturer with a wow factor that is in demand across the world,” said Vince Cable. “Through its cars, motorsport and engineering divisions Lotus makes a key contribution to the UK automotive sector and the wider economy through the exports of its iconic cars and its world-class design engineering consultancy.”
The Business Secretary also visited Hethel Engineering Centre, which supports high performance engineering companies and the wider manufacturing sector in the region.
The fuel cell taxi project was a runner-up in the 2010 SMMT Award for Automotive Innovation. You can find out more about the Award, the 2010 winner and how to enter this year at www.smmt.co.uk/aai.
