Probe Leads to Firing of Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar

Group Lotus fires CEO Dany Bahar after an investigation into a complaint made against him by the auto maker’s new Malaysian owners DRB-Hicom.

No details of the complaint are being given.

The decision was made by the Lotus board, which also announced the appointment of U.K. industry veteran Aslam Farikullah as Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately.

Bahar initially was suspended while the complaint was investigated.

Lotus is a wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysian auto maker Proton, which DRB-Hicom recently bought and privatized.

“I would like to assure you that we remain committed to ensure the ongoing and future business operations of the Lotus Group as we take the Lotus Group to the next level to remain relevant in the global automotive industry,” DRB-HICOM Group Managing Director and Lotus Chairman Khamil Jamil says in a statement.

Perhaps coincidentally, Bahar’s departure comes after he gave an interview to the British Broadcasting Corp.’s Top Gear program magazine saying Jamil was aware the uncertainty about Lotus’s future was damaging the business and the brand, but he needed time to completely understand the business before making a decision about Lotus, and this could take a few months.

“The takeover process has heavily interfered with our plans, and we are still in the process of getting our heads around where exactly we stand at the moment,” Bahar said at the time.

“The takeover of our parent company Proton by DRB-Hicom couldn’t have come at a worse time, but – again – up until that point, Lotus was on track to meet the major milestones as set out in the 5-year business plan.

“The takeover process has put Lotus in a very difficult situation, and it is very frustrating that the only thing we can do is to wait for a final decision how to move forward.”

Lotus’s woes were further compounded at last month’s Indianapolis 500, where both of its cars were black-flagged on lap 11 and pulled out of the race for going too slow.

The two cars were running up to 15 mph (24 km/h) slower than the race leaders and couldn't complete laps within the 105% time limit of the leaders as mandated by IndyCar rules.