Emira Update from Lotus

[Bibs]

 

[Graham Ridgway]

Not the best news, but completely expected and a good way of delivering it.

Although we are all thinking I wonder what this means for me!!

[Cooper]

Nice touch from Matt. 

[exeterjeep]

So that is the first customer Emira, see its RHD may be UK then, who ordered that colour....must be getting it soon.

[Graham Ridgway]

I'm still pleased that I deferred to the i4.  Doesn't look like a December dlivery now though.  Happy to wait

 

[duncx]

Prices held firm

My £60K i4 looks to be still on the cards then

 

[Graham Ridgway]

Have you paid a deposit?  Otherwise you might not be included in the price promise!

[duncx]

Yep, paid my deposit before the Hethel reveal, I think I'm in the first 100?

[Eagle7]

I'm really glad to see this video.  It confirms what we've known must have been going on behind the scenes with delays and other frustrations, but it's also extremely good to hear the price we were quoted when we placed our deposits/orders is going to be honored.  Now we know for a fact that final production spec has been settled on, and customer cars are being built.

When you think of where they were one year ago with a hand-assembled non-running studio model, and a gray proof-of-concept car that ran, I think it's quite an achievement to have gone through everything they had to go through, to be able to start producing customer cars at this point in time.  Hopefully we'll start to see photos and videos of customer cars, and start to see some road tests from Road&Track, Motortrend, Car&Driver, etc. with actual performance numbers.

Here's hoping there are no more delays!

[Barrykearley]

Cracking update - nice job Matt  - can’t wait to see one in the wild.

[Techyd]

33 minutes ago, duncx said:

Prices held firm

My £60K i4 looks to be still on the cards then

 

I'm not sure that's what he said, pretty sure he's referring to first editions really against signed up deposit holders.

[Mctaff]

great to finally see some comms!

matt said June deliveries though which is wrong!? 

[Graham Ridgway]

I imagine they are determined to get at least one car delivered in June!

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Good video. Definitely right to start with the good news about honouring the fixed prices. That’s going to cost them. The delays have been on the cards for a while, so no surprise there.

Good to see he’s got a slogan like Chapman’s “simplify and add lightness”.

For today’s Lotus the new mantra is “it’s worth the weight”. 😉

[AK70]

Fully understand why there is a delay for the customers.

Chip shortage will go on well to the end of 2023... and that is just one example..
So yes, we all (customers and fans) have to be patient. And yes this is not a Lotus specific problem. I think the "feel" it more, because the Emira is so desirable.... 😉

 

 

[Graham Ridgway]

It will be interesting to see how it transpires.  Matt said they are struggling to ramp production as they are starting at 0 cars (obviously).  I twitched a bit there as it sounded like some big delays coming.  It is what it is but I am very much prepared for quite a few month's delay from the previously quoted december i4 date I had.

[TomE]

3 hours ago, Mctaff said:

great to finally see some comms!

matt said June deliveries though which is wrong!? 

First batch was originally June and had already been delayed to July.  Now some further delays of "a few weeks for some, longer for others".  Last week I was told this general announcement was coming out this week, and that individual contact would be over the next 3 weeks for current July batch to confirm individual delivery dates.  

 

I assume they're doing another re-stack of the production schedules based on latest timings on component deliveries before they can speak to each of us.  We know auto gearboxes and wheels are an issue, potentially some other things too.

[Trevsked]

I’m sure he’s a nice fella but he mentioned valued customers twice, I certainly don’t feel like I’ve been treated as such. And next to zip going on in the factory behind him whilst switching to views of building prototypes from a while ago. Felt to me like a release to just say we’ve kept to the price we advertised, which is what should happen anyway. We have come to expect and accept price hikes, doesn’t mean it’s right though.

 

Trevor.

[Graham Ridgway]

I'm curious about what else you'd like really?  

[MJON]

6 hours ago, Cooper said:

Nice touch from Matt. 

I agree, the delays are really not surprising but being able to still honour the price, we’ll that’s certainly going to cost them.

[Eagle7]

I wonder, if they have everything they need for later order builds, will they go ahead and build them, and put the earlier orders they can't build on hold until they can get the parts?  For example, let's say they have early orders (date-wise) for a V6 with an auto, but those transmissions aren't shipping at the moment.  They have later orders (date-wise) for V6's with manual trans, and they have a supply of those.  Will they build the ones they can build, regardless of when they were ordered so they can get at least some customer cars produced?

[Bibs]

3 minutes ago, Eagle7 said:

Will they build the ones they can build, regardless of when they were ordered so they can get at least some customer cars produced?

I would imagine so as they would want get paid for them. No point in holding cars back, it would be very damaging for cashflow.

[Eagle7]

That's what I would do.  I know that will be difficult for some early orders if their car isn't being delivered, but others who ordered later are getting their cars.  Under the circumstances though, it would make sense as a business decision.

[Bibs]

It makes more sense from a business perspective. I do however think that'll be a moot point as they have thought long and hard about supply chains and are maximising commonality between the models. 

[Trevsked]

44 minutes ago, Graham Ridgway said:

I'm curious about what else you'd like really?  

Is that for me?

 

If so, good question as it’s left me a little disappointed so far. Ideally I’d have liked Lotus to have delivered on time, March, Emira to have followed the lightweight principals of Lotus of the past and the wishes of Gavan for staggered wheel sizes to be worked with rather than same size all round as they look better that way. Minimum of 430hp as per the outgoing Evora and retention of 7200rpm rather than a strangled 6800rpm. Ease of use and better styling are very welcome of course but the car needs to be ahead of its rivals when it comes to driving, that hasn’t come across in the reviews I’ve seen although it’s still good. If I just wanted an easy car with good looks, I’d be happy.

 

Trevor.