Lookers' Charles Hurst division to open Northern Ireland’s only Lotus Cars dealership

Lookers’ Charles Hurst car retail division has struck an agreement with sports car maker Lotus Cars to develop its only dealership in Northern Ireland.

The Geely-owned performance car brand’s new Emira coupe all-electric Eletre SUV will be introduced to the group’s Boucher Road car retail complex in Belfast under a new agency model retail agreement between the two parties.

Featuring the latest Lotus corporate identity (CI), the new facility is scheduled to open its doors to customers in early 2023.

Charles Hurst’s group operations director Jeff McCartney said: “The new Lotus dealership reflects our continued commitment and investment in elite car brands, consolidating Belfast’s status as the official home to the very best in luxury and performance motoring.

“Charles Hurst is proud to partner with this first-class brand, which will provide another excellent offering to existing and future customers.”

Lotus is added to an existing collection of premium brand partners of the Charles Hurst business which already includes Ferrari, Maserati, Bentley and Aston Martin.

Lookers chief operating officer Duncan McPhee said: “The Lotus brand is synonymous with innovation, dynamic performance and cutting-edge technology, and we are thrilled to include it within our portfolio of world-class motoring brands at Lookers.”

Lotus UK has been on a drive to grow its global retail footprint under Geely, which also owns the Polestar, Volvo and London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) brands.

At the start of 2022 it made the switch to an agency model agreement for its expanding car retail network.

In a subsequent interview with AM about the move Lotus’s executive director of sales and aftersales, Geoff Dowding, told AM that agency model car retail must be ‘collaborative and win-win’.

Among the car retail groups to make recent additions to the Lotus dealer network have been Hendy Group, JCT600, Park's Motor Group and Caffyns.

In April this year, meanwhile, Lotus Cars itself revealed plans to open a new two-story ‘global store’ opposite the Ritz hotel at the heart of London’s prestigious Mayfair district.

Commenting on the creation of a new car retail facility in Belfast with Charles Hurst, Dowding said: “The only way to truly understand a Lotus is to drive one, and we’re delighted that our partnership with Charles Hurst will give people across Northern Ireland the chance to do just that.

“The new showroom and the Charles Hurst team means we’re giving more people the opportunity to experience our high-performance vehicles first-hand.”