Group Lotus is a holding company that includes two major business units, Lotus Cars and and Lotus Engineering. The Cars side builds the famed British sports cars like the late Esprit and the current Elise and Exige. Lotus Engineering has worked with almost every major carmaker on various projects over the last several decades. In the past few years they have made a major push into more environmentally-friendly technologies. Everyone on this site likely knows of their involvement with Tesla Motors as well as work that they have done with Zap. The company has now established a group within the Engineering side that will focus on hybrid and electric vehicles. CEO Mike Kimberley has named Phil Barker as Chief Engineer of Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technologies and he will head up the new group within the Powertrain department. The Lotus press release is after the jump.

Related:

• Lotus goes to Abu Dhabi on a eco-car business trip, finds Mubadala
• Lotus to help Saudi Arabia develop homegrown green cars

[Source: Lotus Engineering]