Partnerships and collaborations have become an increasing trend in the auto industry these days, and we need to look no further than the agreement struck up between Lotus and Mansory to know that the trend is on the upward tick.

The British automaker and the Swiss tuner recently announced that the two companies will be working hand-in-hand with each other for a number of future projects.

While details are still slim pickings at this point, the partnership between the two will make Mansory the "official customization studio" of Lotus with the former working hand-in-hand to build and contribute "bodywork, trim, and special finishes" for some of the latter’s vehicle offerings, including the Evora, Exige, and Elise.

According to Wolf Zimmerman, Lotus’ Chief Technical Officer, the partnership between Lotus and Mansory was sealed to further bolster the profiles of both companies, giving the tuner an opportunity to build programs for the automaker, similar to what they did last year when they debuted a program for the Lotus Evora at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.[...]