Geely Could Make a Play to Purchase Lotus

No matter how much awesome Lotus is doing right now, it is just too small to support a failing monster like Proton – its sister company under the DRB-Hicom, Bhd parent company. Now, Lotus may find itself under the control of an unlikely company.

According to a report from Malaysian website The Star, DRB Hicom is looking to offload 51% of Proton as part of a deal it made following a RM1.5 billion ($0.40 billion) bailout Proton received from the Malaysian government to pay off vendors, and Lotus will go along with it.

Since putting 51% of Proton up for sale, only two automakers have come forward as potential suitors: the PSA Group and Geely (the parent company of Volvo). The report claims that, despite Geely making a pitch for 51% of Proton, it really only wants Lotus, and PSA may be willing to grant this wish.

According to a source, “Proton is of no use to Geely. It wants Proton because of the auto technology in Lotus. And for PSA, which is strong in sport-utility vehicles (SUVs), it is not keen on Lotus,” so a deal seems dually advantageous.

Of course, nothing is official yet, and there have been numerous reports of Lotus potentially changing hands. But this is, by far, the most serious report we’ve seen to date.

Keep it locked here for updates.