Auto100 - UK Trader in Sutton in Ashfield

[Lotustoronto]

I suspect going forward Geely is going to put a stop to typical Lotus over supply. The sales agency model disaster was run by the team at Hethel, so this can squarely fall on their shoulders. In China they have maintained the agency / direct to customer model. Lotus has a history of over building cars based on the demand - which usually resulted in heavy discounts, even on new Lotus cars. However, with new Lotus (sports cars from UK) now being sold in A LOT more areas (India, China / GCC) than before and a lot more stores, I do think Hethel's 4K-5K per year (max) output will almost always be in line with demand. I don't think we will see a huge amount of Emira's for sale at dealers by end of this year as they try to sort out the demand vs supply.

Has anyone else noticed that none of the UK youtube's have reviewed the new i4 Emira?

 

[jonsealsportscars]

Did Auto100 actually purchase the cars or got them on a sale or return basis? I would guess the latter as they had over 40 Emiras and Eletres, that is a massive investment for an independent dealership.

Auto100 are getting the bad rep and not the Lotus dealerships, the dealers are also getting the warranty work so a win/win for them.

They would have bought them. Lotus needed some cash. Auto100 are a pretty big business holding 22m in stock so a few Emiras isn't going to dent that all too much.

 

[Sasquatch]

They would have bought them. Lotus needed some cash. Auto100 are a pretty big business holding 22m in stock so a few Emiras isn't going to dent that all too much.

They’re big hitters.
Lots of cash behind them.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

They would have bought them. Lotus needed some cash.

Don't think this is quite right. Lotus has plenty of cash at the moment. The CEO said on their earnings call that they were discounting cars in Q4 in order to clear a backlog of older stock in the UK and so they could come into 2025 with no more discounting. He said this was particularly important because they didn't want Lotus dealers to be discounting when they launch the TYP 134.

 

[jonsealsportscars]

Don't think this is quite right. Lotus has plenty of cash at the moment. The CEO said on their earnings call that they were discounting cars in Q4 in order to clear a backlog of older stock in the UK and so they could come into 2025 with no more discounting. He said this was particularly important because they didn't want Lotus dealers to be discounting when they launch the TYP 134.

Came from a very reliable source. Discounting will always here in the UK as the cars are simply too expensive. The huge amount of cancelled orders they had will have punched a huge hole in their balance sheet so they did need to convert them to cash.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

Came from a very reliable source. The huge amount of cancelled orders they had will have punched a huge hole in their balance sheet so they did need to convert them to cash.

Well, no disrespect to your source, but on Sept 30th Lotus Technology had US$451M in cash sitting on their balance sheet. So they weren't wholesaling blocks of cars because they were about to run out of money. I suppose it's always possible that head office was putting the squeeze on Hethel and telling them to stop asking for cash.

Their CEO literally said in the earnings call that they had decided to wholesale some older UK inventory in Q4 to clear them off the balance sheet so they could try and avoid discounting in 2025.

 

[Orchardbike]

An update on this thread. My car is still at the dealers being repaired and they can’t give me a date as to when it will be finished. Each week they start to work on the car and then find another problem that need a new part ordering. The latest is that it needs a new flywheel.

Auto100 have sent me an email, stating quite clearly that it’s nothing to do with them and I need to speak to Lotus. Lotus customer care have stated that it’s nothing to do with them, as I bought it via an independent. The dealer fixing the car, don’t appear to be in any rush to fix the car, as I didn’t but it from them and they’re busy with their own customers cars. In two months, they replaced the front loom only, leaving the following still outstanding: clutch plates, clutch thrust bearing, HeVAC shroud, fuse box shroud, two doors, battery and other items still to be actioned. They refuse to give me an expected finish date. Currently, the front clam, back clam, undertrays, rear sub-frame, engine, gearbox, clutch, seats, carpet, dashboard & trim are all out of the car.

I have emailed Lotus Customer Care this morning and asked them why they are selling cars through independents, when they have Lotus dealers that could sell the cars. I’m sure that Lotus are aware of the issues with the cars and that’s why they are selling them via independents. This gives them the ability to divorce themselves from responsibility for the cars (as they have done with mine). This seems at best incredibly underhand. Lotus ‘customer care’ seems to me, to be a misnomer. I’m now completely fed up with Lotus, the brand and it’s tainted my feelings for the Emira completely. How they can treat their customers like this and expect to remain in business is beyond me.

Pissed off, Hertfordshire.