The Lotus Group has appointed Ben Payne as vice president of design. Payne recently headed up the design development of the Eletre hyper-SUV.
In his new role he will oversee all Lotus design, working collaboratively with group leadership, and collaborate with the commercial team to accelerate the growth of the company, ensuring design consistency as the OEM plans to become a “global performance brand” by 2028.
Payne takes over from Peter Horbury, who passed away in June 2023.
“Having worked extremely closely with Peter over the past five years, it was a privilege to call him a friend and great mentor in shaping global creative leadership and influencing my own design philosophy,” explained Payne. “It’s an honor to be taking on this new role, and I am excited to further elevate the brand globally.”
“Lotus is renowned for its world-class design, and Ben has played a key role in ensuring our new lifestyle electric vehicles stay true to the heritage of the Lotus brand,” said Feng Qingfeng, CEO, Lotus Group. “We have ambitious plans to scale rapidly by 2028, and I look forward to working with Ben as we deliver new vehicles and expand into new markets.”
Payne benefits from extensive knowledge of automotive design and branding, and has previously worked at Aston Martin and Bugatti.
