The latest wave of redundancies will primarily be made at the sportscar manufacturer's Norfolk headquarters and factory at Hethel, where 94 jobs were lost after a restructuring of the business was announced in November last year.

Lotus said the decision is partly due to “volatile and evolving market conditions including the US tariffs” - with UK car manufacturers now subject to a 25pc import fee.

Lotus' Hethel headquarters and manufacturing facility (Image: Denise Bradley) The tariffs are an industry-wide issue, with the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) warning that around 25,000 jobs in the UK are at risk as a direct result of the fees on car imports. Currently, one in eight UK-built cars are exported to the US.

Lotus is owned by Chinese car company Geely Holding Group, which also owns Volvo, Polestar and Lynk&Co among other automotive technology businesses.

The firm produces its Emeya and Electra electric vehicles (EVs) in Wuhan, and its Chinese operation now looks set to be severely affected by the tariffs, with the country locked in a trade war with the US.

Lotus' Hethel headquarters in 2018 (Image: Lotus) The sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the UK from 2030, and Lotus has invested more than £500m into technology and........

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