- LOTUS DENIES PLANS TO CLOSE UK PLANT
- COMPANIES HOUSE IN SHOCK SMALL BUSINESS SHAKE-UP
- ARNOLD CLARK ORDERED TO DEMOLISH BUILDING
- ASTON MARTIN SUES SUPPLIER
- LUCA DI MONTEZEMOLO JOINS McLAREN
- WEEK AHEAD: SMMT June new car registrations
- 1 IN 10 COMPANY DIRECTORS WORKING PAST RETIREMENT AGE
- USED CAR MARKETPLACE ON SUNDAY TIMES HUNDRED 2025
- CHINA SOLD MORE EVS THAN 51 COUNTRIES COMBINED
- TESLA IN WORLD’S FIRST AUTONOMOUS CAR DELIVERY
- GUEST OPINION: Future leaders and generational skills gaps
Lotus denies plans to close UK plant
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds held talks today with Lotus after the company denied earlier reports it was planning to stop manufacturing at its Hethel plant in Norfolk, which employs 1,300 people.
On Friday, the Financial Times reported Lotus was considering closing Hethel in favour of a new plant in the US. On Saturday, Lotus issued a statement saying it remains “committed” to the UK and had “no plans” to close the factory.
The Sunday Times says say this pause in plans came after the government intervened. The Financial Times adds the government has signalled it would offer Lotus support.
Lotus did, however, say in its statement that it was “actively exploring” options in the global market. Sources told the BBC the situation was under review and they were “considering taking production to the US”.
Reynolds said he “was reassured by management that they are committed to their UK operations and have no plans to close their Hethel plant”.
Geely-owned Lotus makes its sports car range at Hethel, including the recently-updated Emira. The Eletre electric SUV and Emeya electric saloon are made in Wuhan, China.
In its recent Q1 earnings, Lotus posted a net loss of $183m, down from $258m a year ago. Debt climbed to $3.3bn.
Companies House in shock small business shake-up
Companies House has disclosed that, from April 2027, all companies will need to file annual accounts using commercial software, with traditional web and paper-based filing systems closing.
Companies classed as “small and micro” entities will also be required to file a profit and loss statement for the first time. They are currently able to file abbreviated accounts, limiting both administrative burdens and public disclosure of their financial performance, reports The Sunday Times.
Companies House warned that “other changes are planned”, including updates to audit exemptions and accounting periods. More details will be shared “in the coming months”.
The notification about the reforms, issued on Wednesday, reportedly came as a surprise to many business owners.
Arnold Clark ordered to demolish building
Arnold Clark has been told a B-listed building on its Stirling site needs to be immediately demolished. In February, the retailer sought fresh consents to make the building structurally safe. However, after conducting checks, engineering consultants say they won’t be enough to mitigate the risks.
The landlocked three-storey derelict former corn mill dates back to 1904. It is one of the few remaining industrial buildings from the era in Stirling. Arnold Clark withdrew a bid to demolish the historic structure in 1999. It bought the land, and the building itself, in 1991.
Aston Martin sues supplier
Aston Martin is suing Italian supplier IMR Industries after it halted deliveries fearing the Gaydon firm wouldn’t pay its bills. Aston filed a lawsuit for breach of contract in the High Court on 19 June, reported The Telegraph, with an initial hearing being held on Thursday. A temporary injunction has been issued ordering IMR, which makes exterior parts and interior leather trims, to restart deliveries.
Luca di Montezemolo joins McLaren
Former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo has been named one of nine directors of McLaren Group Holdings Limited, which controls McLaren Automotive and holds a minority stake in McLaren F1. Abu Dhabi-based investment firm CVYN Holdings completed a takeover of McLaren Automotive two months ago; other named directors including former JLR executive Nick Collins and McLaren Group chairman Paul Walsh.
WEEK AHEAD
Monday, Nationwide house price index
Monday, UK consumer credit
Tuesday, BRC shop price index
Friday, SMMT June new car registrations
DATA INSIGHT
1 in 10 company directors working past retirement age
620k: The number of company directors working past the state retirement age of 67. Researchers told The Sunday Times that 445k are over the age of 70 and 105k are over the age of 80.
Used car marketplace on Sunday Times Hundred 2025
74: Ranking for low-value car marketplace car.co.uk on Sunday Times list of 100 fast-growth companies. It buys and sells more than 4k cars a month and generated sales of £22.7m last year. Chief executive Will Fletcher says there are plans to take the business into Europe and the US.
GLOBAL AUTO
China sold more EVs than 51 countries combined
In 2024, 11.3 million new EVs were sold in China – more than 51 other countries combined. The US was a distant second, with 1.5 million registrations, with Germany and the UK a close third and fourth with 572k and 549k sales.
Last year, EV sales in China grew 39.5% year-on-year; EVs and PHEVs account for 48% of all new car sales in the country.
Tesla in world’s first autonomous car delivery
Tesla has completed the world’s first autonomous delivery of a car. It drove off the production line from the firm’s Gigafactory Texas to the new owner’s home 30 minutes away.
A video of the post on X received 26 million views in less than 24 hours.
OPINION
Future leaders and generational skills gaps
Gen Z and Gen Y employees, the people who should be forming the basis of our pipeline of future leaders, are starting to show signs of reduced human connection. Thanks to the evolving hybrid work environment, technology (including AI) and the difference in training and development available to younger generations, these people are not where they should be in terms of their skills and business behaviours.
This publication, and sister title Auto Market Insight, have highlighted the themes around recruitment and retention. And as an experienced senior leader and executive coach, I’m increasingly concerned about where and how the cultivation of our critical future leader pipeline is happening.
Ultimately, any sort of coaching, training or skills enhancement at a senior level must provide an uptick in commercial performance. An obvious ROI creates the permission for this leadership support.
Surely, the earlier our emerging talent is supported, the better leaders they can be for far longer? And with early support, they’ll have greater impact for their organisations; which could and should result in comparable ROI and the longer term retention of the individual if they’re demonstrably valued for their results and the culture they are able to create.
A combination of factors are at play here. Inadequate careers
guidance in school and higher education, remote working, a lack of personal interaction and structured mentorship, a decline in training investment and the uncritical adoption of AI leading to a fundamental lack of personal authenticity are all creating significant misses at every step of the career path. Ultimately, this leads to a leadership pipeline filled with unprepared individuals, despite their potential and willingness to succeed.
We have all seen over the years individuals who are promoted because they were good at their job but were not natural leaders and, in some cases, had no desire to be their very best for their people or to follow a proper career ladder to furnish themselves with both breadth and depth for senior leadership readiness.
However, the problem is much more fundamental than this. I am advocating for a renewed focus on fundamental skill development through structured training programmes and personalised development interventions, the critical importance of in-person interaction and shadowing, enabling true understanding of how to build relationships, and readily-available coaching and mentorship much earlier in careers to address the growing gaps in leadership behaviours that we know exist from prior research.
We owe it to our young leaders, and our future global economy, to invest as much in our people as we do our systems, infrastructure, data and product development.
That investment is not just money but quality time. To do this, we need to reconsider the often-relentless online schedules. If our current leaders want to help, they need to boost their employee’s critical and strategic thinking and allow for quality protected time for personal development.
There is merit in on-the-job training, particularly with the growing number of apprenticeship schemes, but throwing people into situations that will see them drown means missing opportunities to grow and inspire agile, creative, authentic empathetic leaders that truly know how to lead an organisation with confidence and clarity to ultimate success while nurturing the next generation of future talent.
The question is, as a senior leader, are you making sure the next generation of talent is supported and trained in a way that will not only futureproof your business but also deliver a strong return on investment? And if not, why not?
Julie David
Executive Coach & Advisor
High Winds Coaching & Salcombe Quays Advisory
Get in touch: tristan@autosunday.co.uk
ISSN 2977-6597