Emira Update from Lotus

[TomE]

September is now the earliest build month.  Lotus has not given the delivery month, but reasonable assumption is that means October for delivery.  In theory they could deliver some in the same month as they are built.

[Trevsked]

Has anyone asked what happens if you cancel at the 30 day call? As it has been a full deposit refund so far, I assume still the case?

 

Trevor.

[Graham Ridgway]

That must be the case unless you have been sent new Ts&Cs which supersede the old ones.  As (repeating myself, yawn), the paperwork was explicit that what has happened so far was not an order, Lotus are not obliged to sell and the customer is not obliged to buy an Emira.  The refundable deposit simply secured a place in a queue (which in itself has not meaning if Lotus choose not to sell you a car).

[Techyd]

None of this applies to me, however I do feel how annoying and frustrating this all is.  If I were Lotus, I would be going out of my way to appease each and every delayed delivery of the V6's.  Some free fuel would be a good start for example.

I still can't believe the comms coming out of Lotus is so poor, they must know and see the general consensus of this across the forums?

[ADF]

I hate to think whats happening to Non-Priority customers? 

[KennyN]

I've just spoken to Customer Care to assess my options following yesterday's email.  I asked about delivery having been advised that my car would enter production in October, I was told that I could expect a November delivery, if everything runs to schedule (still hedging their bets!).

I asked whether postponing delivery to March would be an option and the response was they cannot guarantee a March delivery, postponing could result in the car being delivered this time next year.

So, November it is, it had better be nothing short of perfect on arrival following this buying experience!

[C8RKH]

That's crap @KennyN to be honest as what they are basically saying is take it or leave it, your choice.

I'm not gloating but I am happy I did not place an FE order. Especially when I have just returned from 5 days hooning my Evora around the IoM in this spectacular weather we are having. Morning swim at Peel in the Irish Sea. Stuff on the engine to dry off whilst I have a coffee and ice cream, versus spending each day wondering if today is the day I get a date for a winter delivery of my Emira. I'd be well pissed off if I sold my Lotus already for the Nevemira. (Sod it, yes, gloating now).

[KennyN]

Yep, take it or leave it is a pretty fair summary.  I guess that's the luxury of having a full order book.

Gloat away, it sounds like a gloat worthy trip 

[C8RKH]

It certainly was. Organised by the "other" Lotus Forum site and wonderful fun.

I can confirm that we saw no Emira's on the Island, and none of the locals we met (Lotus Owners) were on the list for one, though I am sure that will change.

 

 

[Spinney]

You should worry, yesterday I received a very short, almost curt, email from Mercedes ( the first since ordering the car in April), telling me my car, which I was originally told would be here in Q1 next year, will now not be ready until ‘at least’ Q3. 

I’m not fretting about it though as even if I cancel, I’d probably have to wait a similar time from any other manufacturer. It’s the way of things right now, unfortunately, and there’s bugger all you can do about it so might as well just chill. I’ve never known anything like this in all my many decades of owning cars. 

I do feel rather sorry for Lotus, since Emira is now all they’ve got to sell. I assume larger manufacturers with a big range do, at least, have some cars they can sell. 🤷‍♂️

[Redwing]

I do find myself wondering how long Geely will tolerate the financing of a small company, employing 100s of people with the associated overheads, that, apart from a few deposits,  has seemingly generated no income for months. As @spinney has said, other manufacturers have several models to sell.  Lotus have only the Emira and that is not going well, with none delivered to date.  I worry that Geely will say "enough is enough" and pull the plug.

[TomE]

As long as they've got an 18 month order book I think Geely will stick with it.  As soon as cancellations start increasing they'll get worried.  There's some evidence this most recent 1-2 month delay is causing some more cancellations, plus people asking to defer a winter delivery into 2023.  Finance costs have gone up too and people who thought they might flip the car for £10-20k profit are probably feeling nervous about whether that will happen.

I suspect a number of people are holding on for test drives and feedback from first customer deliveries before making a decision.  UK deposit holders can pull out up until 30 days before delivery, so there's still a risk of people dropping out.

[Frickin_idiot]

Not a great time to be launching a car, supply chain issues and a world economy hurtling toward recession 

[TomE]

Lotus car launches are a good indicator of impending economic woes - the Evora was launched just before the Global Financial Crisis.

[Frickin_idiot]

I am one of those that have delayed their order. The way that the economy is heading I’ll be thinking long and hard about pulling the order. 

[simonb]

I think deferring delivery would be impossible for lotus

Get offered November, and buyer may want to delay to February, however add 3 more months of slippage and suddenly buyer will want their place back.

I think the reality is unless lotus stockpile parts, then delivery will not be "firm" until car is in PDI

I would imagine Felixstowe strike will be adding weeks to delay 

[TomE]

Last week they were busy contacting a number of people who were told a few weeks ago they were delayed into 2023, to offer them Nov and Dec deliveries.  Either that's moving people up into cancellations or people with Oct/Nov/Dec slots have asked to defer to next year.  This must be creating a lot of extra work on re-planning production schedules.

I suspect once demo cars arrive at dealers there will be another round of cancellations, deferrals and spec changes that mess up the scheduling.

They've also delayed publishing the Base Edition options pricing, which would be a factor in some people's decisions.

[Barrykearley]

They just need to build some cars and deliver them for sale. Folks will buy 

[Rambo]

Much as I love all 3 of my Lotus cars I feel that the continuing saga with the Evora has become an absolute shambles. Shame on you Lotus Geely. 

I feel sorry for all the potential new owners but so glad I'm not one of them 😕

[C8RKH]

Re above, you mean Emira, or do you really mean Evora?

I think they have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with the Emira and Evija.  I know people will make a lot of excuses and point out global issues but we are still talking low volumes.  It feels like the Eletre will be in customers hands first!

Still, not my beef as my spec Emira not yet available.

[Rambo]

Sorry, I meant Emira 😳

[TomE]

First customer car picked up today ... in Belgium

Congratulations to Nikolas, but talk about letting down your home fans.  There are about 1000 UK folks who placed deposits before him.

 

[390ja]

I’ve just seen that on FB.

bonkers.

I’m glad I wasn’t a day 1 UK deposit holder, that wouldn’t sit well with me at all.

[C8RKH]

I remember watching a film as a kid, I think the main character was called "Calamity Jane". 

[ramjet]

Paint not available? Options not available? Maybe all the holes in the cheese lined up so that Nikolas’ car could be built first?