Emira Update from Lotus

[Rambo]

I didn't know that Gouda yellow was one of the original paint colour choices 🧀

[Whitey]

I expect that it is purely down to the parts supply - ie they could finish the build on a number of LHD cars but not RHD which is why UK dealers are still waiting for their demos. Anyway, good luck to Nikolas 👍

Edited September 16, 2022 by Whitey

[C8RKH]

So apart from dash, pray enlighten me as to what those different parts are between lhd and rhd?

[Barrykearley]

Steering rack ?? Pedal box and the associated gubbins ?

oh and the cup holders

[simonb]

Or the parts bin was only big enough to satisfy a smaller market?

[Whitey]

Even if it was just the dash, if they can’t source the rhd one, then they can’t finish the car!

[Barrykearley]

As I understand it - they are having issues w8th the infotainment display unit.

[C8RKH]

I'm too harsh probably. In my defence Lotus did set the expectation bar pretty high. 

[Barrykearley]

Having seen one in the flesh @C8RKH - they will be worth the wait. I just hope they don’t alienate the new market they are trying to enter. Tbf though - all manufacturers are having the same issues.

[exeterjeep]

Must be well past time for another video update from Matt W.

[Rambo]

On 27/08/2022 at 18:35, Redwing said:

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.

Exactly my thoughts too Redwing.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's an extremely poor way to run a company 😕

Let's hope they pull their finger out. And quickly too otherwise there will be even more disgruntled buyers

[Rambo]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/988140151932977/permalink/1267082020705454/

[390ja]

Maybe they’re dusting off all the Evora LHD bits they found in the shed after the factory refurb and using those on the emiras..

[Frickin_idiot]

3 hours ago, Rambo said:

Exactly my thoughts too Redwing.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's an extremely poor way to run a company 😕

Let's hope they pull their finger out. And quickly too otherwise there will be even more disgruntled buyers

I very much doubt that Lotus stopped the majority of their revenue streams without the authorisation of Geely group.

[ramjet]

I recall when Liz and I bought our last car, while we wanted a different colour with the full sunroof, even though it was a configurable option, we were told by the dealer that it was quite possible that it could be a 12 month wait and even then we could possibly get told that it would not be available. We took the white one with the full sunroof that had everything else that we wanted that they had on the floor in the dealership.

That was 4 years ago.

[TomE]

17 hours ago, ramjet said:

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

Shortage of RHD parts.  If you want to get an idea of what, go on Deroure for any Evora model and search for parts with "LHD" in the title - over 50 of them from obvious stuff like dash, steering and pedal box, to less obvious things like carpet trim, sun visors and wiring sub-harnesses.

[JB]

5 hours ago, Rambo said:

Exactly my thoughts too Redwing.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's an extremely poor way to run a company 😕

Let's hope they pull their finger out. And quickly too otherwise there will be even more disgruntled buyers

I don't think anyone saw the nightmare that was Covid and then the aftermath of it and then a loon from the KGB invading a sovereign state. Which has had an almighty effect on everything from wiring looms to tyres to chips (not the good ones with salt and vinegar)

To say a poor way to run a company is a little harsh given every single car company is in the same boat and more mainstream ones are telling customers that many standard options like parking sensors are not available now. Or that a model you want won't be available to order. With a crystal ball I'm sure things would've been different. Those who have orders are in for a cracking car. It is worth the wait and demos will be here very soon. All have been confirmed who's getting what.

2 hours ago, Frickin_idiot said:

I very much doubt that Lotus stopped the majority of their revenue streams without the authorisation of Geely group.

Not like Geely are scratching around for the gas money! He could always sell his 10% stake in Mercedes if times get hard.

[C8RKH]

25 minutes ago, JB said:

To say a poor way to run a company is a little harsh

I think you're missing the point. No one is really saying that. The general gist is that Lotus communications is (still) poor. They seem to be behind the curve. Always in catch-up mode when it comes down to tangible stuff. Yet when it comes to teasing product and setting the expectation they are way ahead of the curve. They have over hyped or promised, and under delivered. Never a good place to be.

A lot of the grumblings are actually down to piss poor comms - and that is not down to Covid or Putin to be honest.

The product will be great. We all know that. 

This is a strategy thing, and the way they are pissing about re the dealers, direct/indirect, availability of test drives, availability of demonstrators, and all the comms around it has at times been a little shambolic.  Maybe they have just tried to change too much at once, and they should have stuck to focusing on getting the Emira out, leaving the dealer challenge and buying "experience" for next year.

[JB]

Yes I get where you are coming from and they have certainly tried to change a lot but the new model of selling along with a new model (Emira) had to sort of go hand in hand with each other and frustrating as it is for all concerned, they still only have a small team at customer care. Regarding contact, that is a tricky one as some people want to be told weekly there is no news and others are happy with the level of communication. They are between a rock and a hard place as can't please everyone. But LCC are only a phone call away and will help with what they know, I know that doesn't help many but we are tantalisingly close to demo cars and customer deliveries. Better to have the car right than what Lotus have been known for in the past and put out a car with a few problems and done the "it'll be alright" thing.

Should they have waited? Possibly. Could things have been done differently? Yes. Will they get it sorted? Of course. 

Test drives will be to depositors first and its a fairly simple booking process. 

[Rambo]

23 minutes ago, C8RKH said:

I think you're missing the point. No one is really saying that. The general gist is that Lotus communications is (still) poor. They seem to be behind the curve. Always in catch-up mode when it comes down to tangible stuff. Yet when it comes to teasing product and setting the expectation they are way ahead of the curve. They have over hyped or promised, and under delivered. Never a good place to be.

A lot of the grumblings are actually down to piss poor comms - and that is not down to Covid or Putin to be honest.

The product will be great. We all know that. 

This is a strategy thing, and the way they are pissing about re the dealers, direct/indirect, availability of test drives, availability of demonstrators, and all the comms around it has at times been a little shambolic.  Maybe they have just tried to change too much at once, and they should have stuck to focusing on getting the Emira out, leaving the dealer challenge and buying "experience" for next year.

Some good points very well made C8RKH

[TomE]

46 minutes ago, JB said:

Yes I get where you are coming from and they have certainly tried to change a lot but the new model of selling along with a new model (Emira) had to sort of go hand in hand with each other and frustrating as it is for all concerned, they still only have a small team at customer care. Regarding contact, that is a tricky one as some people want to be told weekly there is no news and others are happy with the level of communication. They are between a rock and a hard place as can't please everyone. But LCC are only a phone call away and will help with what they know, I know that doesn't help many but we are tantalisingly close to demo cars and customer deliveries. Better to have the car right than what Lotus have been known for in the past and put out a car with a few problems and done the "it'll be alright" thing.

Should they have waited? Possibly. Could things have been done differently? Yes. Will they get it sorted? Of course. 

Test drives will be to depositors first and its a fairly simple booking process. 

The LCC team would have more bandwidth if Lotus had communicated proactively and thought about it from a customer standpoint.  Instead LCC is having to act reactively as they are bombarded with people asking what's happening about their car, the next steps in the process, rumours of more delays, lack of info on test drives etc etc.  This didn't need an army of people, it just needed someone to be responsible for customer comms and to actually care about keeping people informed.  It's not about judging how to get the level right, as the level so far has been almost zero.  For example, show me one communication to customers from Lotus since the reveal in July 2021 that has given any update on the AMG i4 version - with first deliveries now rumoured to have slipped another 6 months.

LCC often don't have the info to be able to answer obvious questions.  They've been unable to give dates for demo cars or test drives - dates which have slipped month on month since July.  The word "soon" has been so over-used by Lotus is now a standing joke.

The very first customer Emira was handed over this week.  Except no one is 100% sure if it was Nikolas' Dark Verdant one or if another of the Oostende or Antwerp cars was picked up quietly before his.  The first photos of this much-anticipated event were on his Facebook profile, but nothing at all from Lotus.  Such an important and positive milestone and ... crickets.

[C8RKH]

1 hour ago, JB said:

but the new model of selling along with a new model (Emira) had to sort of go hand in hand with each other

Expand/explain please? 

I categorically disagree with you and I believe that in attempting to do the two things at once they have screwed up. In fact, it would have made more sense to stick with the current operating model for Emira, and bring in the changes with the new electric vision. A clean break between the old ICE Lotus and the new EV Lotus EV. It would have also provided more time for the dealer network to absorb the changes, prepare, etc...

Trying to affect too much change at once is a classic and proven way to destroy transformation and value for businesses.

[JB]

I’m not saying lotus have it right yet but they are the first to go to agency model and with the new model car felt it right time to do so. Yes they got things wrong and need to improve in areas. These I am sure will be addressed as time goes on. But any organisation that changes the whole way it does business does need some slack in my opinion. I am new to retail Lotus and this model is very different to the ‘old’ ways. But they took the leap to change, you might not like it, but it’s coming to every retailer sooner or later. Lotus are the Guinea pigs really.

perhaps they should’ve changed to the agency model with Eletre but they have their reasons I am sure. 
Embrace the change and future and teething problems will be ironed out soon enough.

What I do find interesting though is every customer I have spoken to who has a car on order isn’t giving us any grief at all over communication and contact. Perhaps because we are new and have been passing on whatever information we have in a timely fashion🤷🏼‍♂️

[C8RKH]

I still think you're confusing things - a new model (same as the old ones to be fair) did not need a new agency model. Let's remember, the EMIRA was, or IS, a "sop gap" model, branching the old worlds and the new.

It's not whether I like it or not. Stop the deflection. It's how have they performed. How are they performing?

This is the problem with stuff these days. Everyone is too "nice" and just offers up excuses - sometimes you just need to tell the parents that the baby is "fooking ugly" and sometimes they just need to accept it.

As to your last point, plenty of people with orders on here are grumbling re information and comms.

[Rambo]

7 minutes ago, JB said:

 

What I do find interesting though is every customer I have spoken to who has a car on order isn’t giving us any grief at all over communication and contact.

How about Tom, to name just one 😐