UK
automotive engineering specialists, Lotus Engineering, will become the lead
engineering and development consultant for
Jinhua Youngman Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Youngman)
which is launching a new range of cars under a new brand name over the next five years.
Albert Lam, managing director of Lotus
Engineering, said: “For the last two and a half years, Lotus Engineering has been working with Youngman on
a number of projects. We have built an
excellent working relationship based on trust and the shared values of
entrepreneurship and innovation.
“It
is on these foundations that we will be working with Youngman’s engineers
on the design and development of new vehicles
to help them to establish their new brand in the Chinese automotive industry.”
Youngman is a leading domestic
commercial vehicle manufacturer and recently secured a
licence from the Chinese authorities to produce passenger vehicles.
Youngman’s senior management has
aggressive plans for their new brand in the domestic and export market and plans to have a full four-strong range of models in
place within five years of the first launch.
Pang Qingnian, the chairman of Jinhua
Youngman Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd., said: “Lotus
Engineering is a globally recognised leader in automotive technology and
vehicle engineering and in our recent work together
we recognised its formidable professional capabilities."
As a result Youngman identified Lotus Engineering as the ideal consultants to support the development of our new range of cars
over the next five years.
“With our British friends we
will produce passenger cars designed, engineered and built to exceptional standards. I have no doubt this
prestigious collaboration will be a momentous step towards
a glittering future for Youngman.” Lotus Engineering is one of only a few
global engineering businesses that have the skills and
expertise to manage turnkey, full vehicle engineering programmes from
concept to production and is one of only two
consultancy companies that also design, develop, manufacture and sell their own high quality cars to a global customer
base (28 countries).
Development work on the first model for
the new car producer, a four-door saloon, is due to start
early in 2007 and will be carried out at Lotus Engineering’s Hethel
headquarters and at its other engineering
centres around the world. It is expected that the development of further new models will lead to a range of cars benefiting from
the expertise of Lotus Engineering.
Lotus Engineering is working with a
number of clients in the fast-expanding Chinese and Indian
markets. It opened a dedicated Chinese office three years ago and is planning
on opening a similar office to serve clients in
India
in the next six months. As well as establishing an
engineering centre in China,
Lotus Engineering has a major European Technical Centre at its Hethel,
UK headquarters
dedicated to the Chinese automotive industry.
To contribute to a discussion about Lotus Engineering and their involvement with Youngman click here.
