Group Lotus has appointed former Volvo global marketing chief Mike Johnstone to lead the performance brand’s commercial operations, the company said.
Johnstone has already taken up the London-based post, reporting to Group Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng.
Johnstone joined Volvo in 2017 as head of the brand’s UK marketing operations before moving to oversee its global marketing.
Both Volvo and Lotus are majority owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.
Johnstone will oversee a new department that combines sales, aftersales, brand and public relations functions. As head, he will be responsible for all product lines across all territories, Lotus said.
Lotus Group is the wider company overseeing divisions such as the UK-based Lotus Cars, which makes and sells the brand’s sports cars, and Lotus Technology, which is responsible for making the company’s electric “lifestyle” models in China starting with the new Eletre large SUV.
Johnstone’s appointment “marks the beginning of a new era in the transformation of the Lotus brand,” the company said in a statement.
Lotus has a target to break 100,000 sales by 2028, driven by the lifestyle SUV and sedan models.
Eletre deliveries are due to start early this year. The SUV will be followed this year by a sedan code-named the Type 133 and what Lotus calls a “groundbreaking” smaller SUV in 2025.
The Type 135 electric sports car developed with Renault Group subsidiary Alpine is slated to arrive in 2026.