Lotus is about to launch the inaugural Lotus Summer Festival across its retail network.

Dealers are being encouraged to organize events such as concourse competitions and driving activities for the five-week campaign, which will run up to the mid-September launch of Lotus’s latest sports tourer, the Europa S.

Heathcliffe Robertshaw, UK sales manager with the Proton-owned carmaker, says the aim is to draw existing customers into showrooms, to sustain their interest in the brand and update them on the current product range.

He says owners are passionate about the brand and view Lotus ownership as membership of a community.

“When we engage customers on that level it definitely translates into sales. If we get 70 people into a showroom, our dealers will convert 10% of them on average, that’s a much higher success rate than many other brands,” says Robertshaw.