Future of Lotus

[AK70]

In Germany alone, sales figures for the new Alpine A110 was 214!  That is more than all Lotus models combined (199).

So yes I think Lotus should have made an Elan (like the A110) and quite possibly it would have been the most sucessful model right away....

It simply shows, that there is room for Lotus to offer non-hardcore GT cars. Bring back the Esprit and the Elan!

In 2018, I have done roadtrips from Slowenia, Austria, Italy, Switzerland  to France, covering the complete Alps in 2 Weeks.
Done it with my Evora S and could not think of any other car or Lotus model, (except the A110 )to be more enjoyable and fun! The Recaro seats are the best.
Lotus forever! I hope they dont mess it up.,..

 

 

 

 

[Neal H]

13 hours ago, au-yt said:

Hi Torque engine for say a Lotusified XC40 (I for one, want one to replace my XC60 in 5 years).

Interesting, I'm currently thinking Volvo XC40 as my new daily driver. I've not driven one but they look great, get great reviews and I like the brand (much more so than the German brands).

Lotus could follow the Porsche route to an SUV quite simply (cheaply) by adopting this with some styling/suspension tweaks and apply a £10k+ premium. Think VW Touareg/Porsche Cayenne.

[jonwat]

Autocar

[Nelly]

I think a lot of what has been said above is correct.  However here is one of the comments left on the above Autocar article, detailing the China factory link:

At last, we will get a reliable Lotus instead of the rubbish that is built by webbed feet morons in Norfolk

Now I don't agree with this at all, but I do believe it is one of the wider perceptions of Lotus.  I would certainly say build quality is one of the things that count against Lotus - again, I don't think its bad but when you look at the quality/perceived quality of Porsche when you are sat inside one, I do think Lotus is behind in this area.  Alfa Romeo used to suffer in this way, and I think since the Brera their image in this area has improved no end, 

If they could solve this, I think that would be a massive step forward but again once done people need to know about it!

Lotus has to have a USP - and that is without question the lightweight & handling qualities.  I don't see why this should change even if they go upmarket (OK they will get heavier, but against the competition).

Finally, on the comments of possibly loosing the "lightweight Lotus" - if they do move upmarket, then the "stripped out specials" should basically be what the current cars are now.

 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Just one business question. Geely apparently owns 51% of Lotus. They are pumping in all the money and hard work, but does that mean they would only get 51% of any profits? What's the situation with the other 49%?

[Bravo73]

Still Malaysian. 

[NedaSay]

1 hour ago, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

Just one business question. Geely apparently owns 51% of Lotus. They are pumping in all the money and hard work, but does that mean they would only get 51% of any profits? What's the situation with the other 49%?

The other party: Etika would also have to chip in at least symbolically, and may not have a say whatsoever in how the company is run... Etika got the shares to facilitate the deal between Geely and DRB...  I think Geely is going to buy them out at some point. It is more than likely that Etika is just bidding their time to get a bigger payday.  Geely got the first 51% for what almost looks like cheap change https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/industry-news/lotus/lotus-cars-bought-by-geely/

I think the next 20% are going to cost about the same amount as their initial purchase. In a way Etika Automotive is a vehicle that will allow DRB to recoup some of their "investment". I wouldn't be surprised if a "no paper"  agreement was signed in private so that five years from now Geely can purchase part or the totality of the 49% shares currently held by Etika for a lot more money. Geely won't care much if within five years they see that their "gamble" with Lotus is working.   

[CharlieBrown]

On ‎15‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 14:06, Bravo73 said:

Lotus only managed to sell 1,600 cars last year. In the entire world. 

The market has spoken, unfortunately. 

Hello,

I'm new here. I live in the US. I currently have a 2017 Evora 400, prior to this a 2013 Evora NA and before that a 2011 Elise R.

For what I see the US market is really bad for Lotus. They don't even mentioned it on the article about their new improved worldwide sales. I believe this has to do with the horrible marketing of this brand. Here Lotus US HQ are in Detroit. Back in 2016 when they were bringing the Evora 400, the marketing director in the US thought that driving an Evora 400 Euro Spec around the country was going to be a great way to advertise the car. There were no TV ads, only few auto shows had this brand showcased. Few magazines advertised the Evora 400, in big bold letter it said "The New Evora 400, It Is Not For You".....WHAT? hahaha....it was the dumbest thing I ever seen. Of course in small letter underneath the picture of the car stated the opposite.

In America, people love this car when they see it BUT they won't buy it due to the price. They believe is too expensive for only 400 bhp plus lack of "Luxury interiors." So they rather have a Base 911. I believe it also has to do with the brand name. Here in the states people think they are All That because they drive a Porsche. Most Americans are all about Big Motors (bhp) or Brand Names and of course big room to fit their fat asses. You can tell them all day about the greatness of this brand and its handling, cornering, light weight, etc....they will yawn and come back with...it is not a Porsche, Audi, MB, etc....and it has a "Camry Engine"

I wish Lotus would bring the Exige 430 Cup to America. I know they won't do it. I emailed them to ask them and tell them that the Exige would sell much better than the  Evora 400 and I got this response.

 

"Currently, as you'll be aware, the Exige and Elise models are not available for the federal market.

With the new ownership of the business we are looking forward, in terms of new product and are obviously considering replacements for these vehicles. As such, product planning is focused on bringing new models in to the federal markets rather than looking at capped or limited volume availability for current models.

 

It is in the businesses interests to deliver what our clients and fans desire and this plays the pivotal role in the companies future plans.

We anticipate bigger and better things to come from the brand and will obviously keep you informed of our progress"

[NedaSay]

Welcome @CharlieBrown, yeah that marketing campaign was a fail on this side of the pound I don't even think it was really addressed to North America... Nor to anyone outside england actually.

Edited January 17, 2019 by NedaSay

[CharlieBrown]

Thanks. You are correct and I still can't believe Lotus UK does not want to ask for another waiver for the Exige. The current Exige 430 Cup would be a hit in the US.

[NedaSay]

They can't it's not just front passenger airbags any more you need side airbags and this is not negotiable at all... The Exige simply cannot be reengineered without very significant expenditures and I believe the exige replacement is just a few months away.

[CharlieBrown]

A new redesigned Exige? 

[NedaSay]

Yes we are supposed to get in rapid fire mode a ultra expensive hyper EV car, and two sport cars based on the Evora platform, one of which is assumed to be a replacement for the Exige.

[mayevora]

What time scale?

[CharlieBrown]

6 minutes ago, NedaSay said:

Yes we are supposed to get in rapid fire mode a ultra expensive hyper EV car, and two sport cars based on the Evora platform, one of which is assumed to be a replacement for the Exige.

Interesting but would those 2 sports cars replacing the Exige make it to North America (USA)?

[NedaSay]

Well if Geely decided to stick by JMG's timetables that would be 2020, assuming that the hypercar has taken precedence I would assume 2021, that is not quite enough time to reengineer the Exige doors  to welcome side airbags and churn out the number of cars necesary to recoup that money. 

2 minutes ago, CharlieBrown said:

Interesting but would those 2 sports cars replacing the Exige make it to North America (USA)?

One of these sport cars is supposed to be an Esprit successor, the Exige was hinted at because JMG hinted at keep the Elise around a bit longer alongside the Evora...  Both cars would be VVA based and therefore be globally compliant.   

[mayevora]

Hypercar in two years will take some doing but great news for the whole brand if doable. 😊👍

[NedaSay]

Hypercar should/would/could/may/might/ought to be presented in concept form this year.

[USAndretti42]

One benefit I see to a high-selling SUV would be the opportunity for Lotus to have more, viable dealerships in the US which would help sales of the Evora and future Elises/Exiges.  The lack of dealers and the resulting distance many potential customers are from those dealers must hold back sales badly.  The current range doesn't sell in big enough numbers to be attractive to dealers but a high-seller would change that.  The more people seeing the sportscars in their local showroom, the more will buy, methinks.

[Bravo73]

I imagine that Lotuses will be sold via Volvo dealerships soon. 

[Frickin_idiot]

Seems like a smart move to me, at least initially until the brand increases sales significantly 

[Nathan Pitman]

Seems a no brainer but why are we not seeing that already? I’m no logistics expert but even putting a single Lotus in every Volvo dealership would spark interest and build brand recognition. 

Edit: I guess the issue is they can’t build them fast enough with the existing production process?

Edited January 19, 2019 by Nathan Pitman

[PAR]

Dealers for Volvo don’t belong to Volvo so they need to negotiate individual agreements. In reality, they will go to all their large dealers (the one with money for extension) and ask them I feel they want to invest in a Lotus dedicated showroom. 

Before putting a Lotus in a Volvo dealership, you need to decide that you will do mai tendance and you need to look at the current contracts you have with lotus dealers (usually there are exclusive areas guarantees).

The current product lines and production capacity makes it difficult for a dealer to want to put a Lotus now, they would rather wait for the new products launch. I guess the new dealers openings will be synchronised with the new product launches.

 

[electro_boy]

I presume we haven’t seen Lotus cars in Volvo showrooms yet as the marketing hasn’t changed ie it’s pretty non existenant. 

So you’re only going to get people wanting a practical salloon or SUV ie your average Volvo in the showrooms and they’re not going to be instetested in a Lotus.  So I don’t see the dealerships wanting to sign up to giving up space to Lotus.

I imagine it’s an all or nothing approach by Geely.  They’ll be working like mad backstage and get everything in place for the new cars and pretty much relaunch the brand ... but before that point we probably won’t see a lot change. 

[Nathan Pitman]

@PAR I guess I was imagining more a of a situation where they simply drop a demonstrator in every well positioned Volvo dealership and refer anyone interested beyond a demo to the nearest Lotus dealership and then pay the demonstrating dealership a referral fee. But yea... not simple when you have a traditional dealership (non direct sales) model.