Lotus has announced Victoria Tomlinson has joined the business as Executive Director of PR and Communications.
In her new role, Victoria will oversee global communications for Lotus Group, including its high-performance sports car business, Lotus Cars, and its all-electric, luxury vehicle unit, Lotus Technology.
Victoria will lead the global PR and communications strategy across the organisation’s key markets including UK, Europe, USA, Asia and MENA. She will also be responsible for scaling the global team and overseeing all product, corporate, consumer and employee communications.
By 2028, Lotus plans to grow the business into a global luxury performance brand, with the ambition to sell 150,000 electric vehicles annually. Victoria will play an integral role in driving forward the overall growth of the Lotus brand and narrative, reaching new audiences worldwide.
Victoria brings a wealth of experience building and amplifying communications plans globally to multiple audiences such as investors, consumers, businesses and government affairs for automotive and technology scale-ups. Most recently, she served as Senior Vice President of Brand, Communications and Government Affairs at Arrival. Victoria led the company’s PR and IR communications strategy for its public listing in March 2021, which at the time was the UK’s largest ever IPO with a $8 billion float on Nasdaq. She has also held leadership roles at Roborace and Mind Candy.
Mike Johnstone, Chief Commercial Officer at Lotus Group, said: “The next five years are critical for the business, as we deliver on our promise to become a global luxury performance brand. We will begin launching new products and solutions worldwide, and Victoria brings key experience in this area and will play a crucial role in telling our story to new audiences.”
Commenting on her new role, Victoria said: “Lotus has ambitious plans to transform its entire product offering and scale globally in the next five years, and I can’t think of a more exciting time to join the business. It’s a real privilege to support and shape the communication of Lotus’ extensive heritage and its ambitious future plans.”
In 2018, Lotus announced its Vision80 strategy and plans to transform the brand from a heritage automotive company to an all-electric, intelligent, luxury mobility provider in the next ten years.
The company launched its first electric hyper-SUV Eletre last year, with customer deliveries taking place in China at the end of March 2023 and UK and Europe imminently. Lotus recently launched Emeya, its next generation electric hyper-GT, in early September 2023.
Lotus continues to see a huge demand for its products, with an orderbook of over 17,000 vehicles for its Emira sports car and Eletre hyper-SUV. Lotus has ramped up production this year, having had a record-breaking first half of 2023, with an 381% increase from FY22. It expects the full year to surpass all previous years.
