Bahar was suspended as CEO on 25 May 2012 on a temporary basis, while an investigation into his conduct was undertaken. Lotus announced on 7 June 2012 the termination of Bahar's employment and the appointment of Aslam Farikullah as the new chief operating officer. The ambitious plans for several new models were subsequently cancelled following Bahar's departure. Jean Marc Gales replaced Bahar as the CEO of the company in 2014 and enabled the company to make a profit after decades in 2017, due to his effective market plans and strategies before he left the company in June 2018 due to personal reasons, and was replaced by Feng Qingfeng from Lotus Group's parent company, Geely.