The "when I placed my deposit thread"...

[PaperLawyer]

41 minutes ago, Evotion said:

Well, some of us have been told conflicting messages, even from senior Lotus staff.

The i4 FE Was originally due in late Summer/Early Autumn of 2022, a good few months after the V6 releases but we have heard that it might now be January 2023. Until they put something firm on the websites or socials we won't know for sure - and even then it might be subject to change.

The own spec cars are still showing as Spring 2023 - that might even be put back should Lotus see more profit in the FE car spec sales.

I was still quoted August 2022 on my call - I don't think a consistent message has been shared within the Lotus customer service team, to be honest.  I didn't ask (as it seemed both rude and unlikely that it would have been known by the customer services representative) what the approx. % of refund requests are, which will also be a key factor as to whether many of us will receive an i4 Emira in 2022 (as perhaps the Lotus die hards will spend more to get an early V6, but many impressed by the "from £60k" strapline (and perhaps giddy at Goodwood) will have got cold feet as a result of the anticipated delay for a base model).

[DarrylV8]

@PaperLawyerI don’t see any other manufacturer making a supercar (looks) and reasonably power output at £60K, so waiting two years doesn’t seem too long for such a car.

being a Lotus and apart from being able to embarrass on a track supercars costing 2 or 3 times as much, it will be reasonably cheap to insure, maintain and run

deposit paid middle of May 2021 if we don’t get our Emira till May 2023 not a big issue 

[Dommo]

3 hours ago, Mctaff said:

Sounds like they are definitely upping production then, as 800 would be a 1.5 year wait at the original numbers which I was told 500-600 per year uk allocation 

The guy from Lotus who rang me today was adamant that I (and everyone ahead of me in the list) would be getting their cars next year. Obviously I’m not sure about the i4 depositors..

I was also told production capacity was 5000 units a year, when I placed my deposit at Goodwood and was given a ludicrously high production capacity when I went to the launch event so god only knows 🤯 

 

[TomE]

4 hours ago, PaperLawyer said:

I was still quoted August 2022 on my call - I don't think a consistent message has been shared within the Lotus customer service team, to be honest.  I didn't ask (as it seemed both rude and unlikely that it would have been known by the customer services representative) what the approx. % of refund requests are, which will also be a key factor as to whether many of us will receive an i4 Emira in 2022 (as perhaps the Lotus die hards will spend more to get an early V6, but many impressed by the "from £60k" strapline (and perhaps giddy at Goodwood) will have got cold feet as a result of the anticipated delay for a base model).

The calling team are working from a mix of scripts, briefings and training.  That doesn't get updated in real time or even every day, so inevitably they aren't as up to date as Lotus staff at the dealer events or some of the people on this forum.

They have been having about 25 refund requests a day in the UK since they started the calling exercise on 20 Sept.  They've also had 50 new deposits per day, which obviously go on the end of the queue.  I did a rough calculation based on figures I had at end of last week, with a lot of assumptions, which suggested they could deliver all the UK V6 FEs by end of 2022 and have capacity for maybe 100-200 i4 FE deliveries at end of 2022.  That all assumes no second shift, which if demand continues at this rate I'm assuming they will want to put into action, but will need time to hire and train and ramp up.

The 5000 per year figure is total for all global markets for a full 12 months for single shift.  In 2022 production only starts in late April.  Other figures being mentioned (500-600/800/1000-1100/1200) are all UK-only.

Pricing for non-UK markets is being rolled out country by country: New Zealand just announced, Canada next and probably on Friday, Japan and other parts of Asia later in the month.  So global demand is not as well defined yet.  It looks like Lotus are handling that by country and dealer allocations for 2022, so once those are sold out each dealer should have a good idea that deposits/orders beyond a certain number mean delivery in 2023.

[TomE]

5 hours ago, Mctaff said:

Sounds positive. With a bit of luck I might get mine by the summer then!

I had been wondering if I had enough info and assumptions to create a delivery date modeller.  Then I realised I was getting far too caught up in this and decided to wait for Lotus to tell us  

[duncx]

I like your idea for a 'delivery date modeller' Tom so come on let's do it, please don't let the lack of real data get in the way of wild speculation

 

[freefall_junkie]

Yup, let's have some delivery date hopium. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas so want to enjoy it to the max. Wild speculation welcome here 🙂

[Nick in Sydney]

In case you guys think you have it tough in the UK . . .  today in Australia we received emails asking us to re-commit to the First Edition and make a second deposit, or lose our place on the list.  And we haven't even seen the colour samples here, let alone the car!

[DarrylV8]

and your problem is?

[Mctaff]

39 minutes ago, Nick in Sydney said:

In case you guys think you have it tough in the UK . . .  today in Australia we received emails asking us to re-commit to the First Edition and make a second deposit, or lose our place on the list.  And we haven't even seen the colour samples here, let alone the car!

It was the same for some of us… I just held off til I’d seen the metal.

is an Aussie tour on the cards soon?

[Nick in Sydney]

Not until Feb, from what I've heard

[TomE]

Presumably it's still a refundable deposit until a later commitment date?

[DarrylV8]

@Emiralustjust my sad sense of humor! 

[Nick in Sydney]

2 hours ago, TomE said:

Presumably it's still a refundable deposit until a later commitment date?

Hope so, they were silent on that in the information email, so we'll need to clarify that. Also, they have asked for our configuration and I'd like to know if there's flexibility to make changes for a period of time.  For example, seeing photos of a green Emira or even photos of larger colours samples might change our preferences.

[Bibs]

I don't see why it would be any different to the process we've seen in the UK mate

 

[C8RKH]

Just upside down.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Bravo73

[C8RKH]

Good job you're not in Japan, as the process would be right to left, instead of left to right, so they'd ship a new car to your dealer who'd then dismantle it and deliver it to you in boxes!

[Mctaff]

now thats what I call a Lotus! 😂

[C8RKH]

Yeah, but remember the dealer would hold some bits back and claim they were on "back order" - 100% Lotus authentic experience then....

Edited October 28, 2021 by Bravo73

[bbpxbbpx]

Got the call and the personal link today. I placed ths deposit on 27-Jul.

I already know all details through this very helpful forum 😀

And she wouldn't be able to tell me roughly when I am in the queue.

[MaJiK]

Sameeeee😁

Just had my call, same order date

[mneil]

Just had my call and paid the second deposit😃.

 

[MaJiK]

What have you gone for?

[Scrute]

Just had my call today!! I must admit I’d hoped the special new configurator was going to be a bit fancier haha

at risk of repeating what folk have said already I had these nuggets from my guy:

They are building all first editions for orders placed so far, they’ll stop taking orders at some point and draw a line, and that’s when FEs stop. Doesn’t matter how long it takes to build them or what delivery dates end up being. 

He suggested that I was within the first 1900 orders at this stage. Wasn’t clear if that was v6s or all. 

They aren’t quoting delivery dates so far as they’re still having people pull out so we’re sliding up the queue! 

I asked about finance packages and they aren’t set yet, but he said it would be a fair assumption to look at Porsche’s deals offered on the 718 Cayman and that they would be representative of what Lotus will offer. I thought that was odd as I expect they’re pitching the vehicles head to head but I didn’t expect them to be as anal as to copycat the finance too, doesn’t feel like they need to. 
Finance deals won’t be released until the new year and you will have the option to slip your order if you can’t commit without seeing them first. 

[Denno]

A Cayman S spec’d to £77k is £19k deposit and around £920 a month over 3 years, would hope the finance on the Emira is better than that!