Caterham Cars is a British manufacturer of specialist lightweight sports cars established in Caterham, Surrey, founded in 1959. In 2021 Caterham Cars was acquired by Japanese automotive group VT Holdings, importer into Japan of the Caterham Seven since 2009. Caterham cars are designed and built in the U.K. After over three decades at Kennet Road, Caterham Cars moved into a new headquarters. The brand-new factory can be found in Dartford, Kent. The state-of-the-art building will be home to Caterham’s production, engineering, motorsport and commercial teams. Caterham expect to see electric versions joining the lineup by 2030.

Caterham Cars Ltd.
Kennet Rd, Dartford,
United Kingdom, DA1 4QN

Caterham Cars is a British manufacturer of specialist lightweight sports cars established in Caterham, Surrey, with their headquarters in Crawley, Sussex. Founded by Graham Nearn in 1959, Nearn acquired the rights to build the Lotus Seven sports car in 1973. Colin Chapman (founder of Lotus Cars) would not have believed his lightweight sportscar would last half a Century, that it would still be a benchmark for performance and handling, be sold in 30 countries worldwide and provide unrivalled opportunities in motorsport.

Caterham as a business has changed immeasurably in recent years following the acquisition by business entrepreneur Tan Sri Tony Fernandes led to the birth of the Caterham Group, which was home to a range of cutting-edge automotive, motorsport, technology and specialist engineering companies that sit within a single group business. The group companies are divided into three sectors: Automotive with Caterham Cars. Caterham Motorsport and Engineering services to clients in the automotive, motorsport, marine and aerospace industries. Caterham Cars was located at Caterham South, Caterham House, Dialog, Fleming Way, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9NQ.

Caterham was acquisition by Team Lotus in 2011, leading to the formation of Caterham Group. In 2021, Caterham Cars was acquired by VT Holdings, Japanese importer for the Caterham Seven since 2009. The change in ownership replaces Malaysia-based AirAsia Group’s CEO Tony Fernandes and its executive chairman Kamarudin Meranun, and was effective from March 31. 2021.

VT Holdings

In addition to being official importers of Caterham cars into Japan where it sells some 120 units a year, 5,000-employee strong VT Holdings also brings in other British marques including Lotus, Royal Enfields and Morgan. As one of the largest retail groups in the country with over 200 dealerships nationwide, the firm also sells Nissan, Honda, BMW and VW models and has additional investments in Spain, U.K. and South Africa.