Europestar is a Chinese automotive sub-brand of the British Lotus Group plc. The brand is the result of the joint-venture with the Chinese Jinhua Youngman Vehicle Co., Ltd.[1] The brand was also known as Qingnian Kuaile or.
The vehicles are manufactured in the prefecture-level city of Jinhua. The brand name is only used for export models. The Chinese homeland units are branded as Lotus Cars. The actual British sports cars of the Lotus brand are imported by the company and retain its UK original logo. In addition, the sport models are marketed under the differentiated heading of Lotus Sports Cars.
The Europestar RCR, a 5-door liftback developed through a collaboration between Youngman Auto, Guizhou Aviation, and British Lotus Engineering,[2] was launched in January 2008. Its assembly began later that year at Youngman’s Jinan plant following a CKD (Completely Knocked Down) process,[3] which involves importing partially disassembled vehicles in kits to be assembled locally.
The brand’s second model, the Europestar Jingyue, was introduced at the 2008 Guangzhou Auto Show (November 2008).[4]