Group Lotus' ambitious plans for an entirely new car range have been put in doubt after it announced CEO Dany Bahar will leave his role with immediate effect.
The decision has been made two weeks after Bahar was suspended by Lotus's parent company, DRB-Hicom Berhad, over a complaint regarding his conduct.
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In a statement DRB-Hicom Berhad explained that the decision to sack Bahar was made following the results of an investigation into the complaint. Details regarding the complaint and investigation have been kept under wraps by the Norfolk-based car maker.
The new permanent chief executive for Lotus has already been confirmed to be Aslam Farikullah, who had previously been standing in for the role whilst Bahar was under suspension.
Dany Bahar was originally announced as the CEO for the Lotus car company back in September 2009, having previously worked for Ferrari and Red Bull's motorsport divisions.
A year later Lotus stunned the motoring industry at the 2010 Paris Motor Show where it revealed five brand new models to the public, with a sixth model also planned but quickly scrapped by the sports car maker.
The new cars signalled a move away from Lotus' lightweight sports car designs and included heavier, more executive cars to take on the likes of Porsche and Ferrari.
The line-up included a new Lotus Elise as well as the return of the Esprit and the Elan.
During this show Bahar announced an ambitious plan that would see all these new cars extend the company's model range to a total of eight models.
The first additions, the Esprit and Elan, are still scheduled to go on sale during 2013, with the Elite arriving in 2014 and the Elise Eterne launching by 2015 at the latest.
Lotus also planned to introduce its own engine to power the car and development is underway at its UK facility.
While arrangements for the range expansion have been undertaken at the Lotus car plant based in Hethel, the plan has been overshadowed by rumours of financial turmoil at Group Lotus, reports which the company have strongly denied.