New vehicle concept defined in 3 hours rather than 3 days!



IBM and Dassault Systèmes (DS) , a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced that long term CATIA user Lotus Cars has expanded its design tools to include a full range of PLM solutions. To build efficiency, ROI, and ultimately happier customers, thanks to even more innovative products, Lotus Cars decided to implement an extended, integrated PLM toolset for end-to-end product creation: CATIA V5 for design excellence, DELMIA for production performance, and ENOVIA SmarTeam for collaborative product data management.

"Before implementing CATIA V5, DELMIA and ENOVIA SmarTeam, our creation and design change requests involved numerous employees and countless hours. When working on one 2006 project, we completed a design with only six engineers and implemented a change request in eight minutes. Before, in a similar case, it took 14 designers to create an underbody and 150 hours to change the material thickness," says Dave Balcombe, Head of Information Management at Lotus. "With our PLM toolset, we recently turned around a new vehicle layout in under 24 hours. The customer proposed the idea at the end of one day, and we presented the project the next- at a 9:30 a.m. meeting."

DELMIA provides an integrated virtual manufacturing environment that engineers use to quickly spot issues and find solutions- before production, saving time and money. This has reduced the number of physical prototypes Lotus requires to validate vehicle assembly. ENOVIA SmarTeam centralizes data and organizes intelligence into nodes, linked to different vehicle zones. Consequently, when Lotus engineers begin a new vehicle design, they can get a head start by transferring knowledge nodes to the next model.

"DS is pleased to work in partnership with Lotus. Since 1985 when it first implemented CATIA, we have worked hand in hand with the customer to drive innovative designs, helping it focus on increasing customer loyalty. Lotus' decision to go further with an integrated PLM strategy is already reaping the rewards," explains Denis Senpere, DS' General Manager PLM North Europe. INCAT, DS and IBM's local business partner, helped Lotus with the implementation of its PLM strategy.

Lotus Cars will present "Driving Innovation with PLM" on November 9, 2006, at ECF 2006, held November 7-9 in Paris, France. The 10th edition of this annual event is a celebration of 25 years of collaborative innovation through PLM. For complete information about the ECF, please visit http://www.ecforum.com.

About Lotus Engineering

The main operating subsidiary of Group Lotus plc is Lotus Cars Ltd, which has two operating divisions - Lotus Engineering and Lotus Cars.

Lotus Engineering is an internationally recognised automotive engineering consultancy based in Norfolk, UK. Its global facilities include those in Michigan, USA and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and offices in Germany and China. Lotus Engineering provides comprehensive and versatile consultancy services to many of the world's OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, offering a full engineering service from initial concept and project design through development and integration of the complete vehicle to meet all worldwide markets and customers to full production. This includes 3rd party "niche vehicle" engineering and manufacture worldwide.

Lotus Cars builds and sells Lotus sports cars, Elise, Exige and Europa for global sale; and manufactures the advanced composite front and rear crash structures for the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish.

For more information about Group Lotus plc, Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering, visit www.grouplotus.com .