Email... V6 Delayed to 2024!

[DJS]

10k overs first time around isn’t bad at all.

That car was the Ronald McDonald spec as well which I don’t suppose will be popular.
(Red/Yellow)

As long as there is a waiting list the car will certainly hold its value.

 

[Lotustoronto]

I don't count one car as "havoc", but I'm sure there will be a flurry of cancellations this week as a result of speculators deciding to pull out. Possibly also some people who might have been pushing themselves financially but thought there would be enough value in the car to run it for 3-6 months and sell without a loss.

I am surprised, though, that they are having to go as far down the queue as Q1 2024 to offer someone a cancelled car. And that it's not a very close match on spec. I wonder how many people earlier in the queue were offered it before that and declined it? Some of the concerns about quality of the early cars may be influencing people to wait at their current position in line.

Sorry I did not mean "havoc" in the sense of values dropping... which I personally think the Emira will have very strong residuals and go over/for MSRP in the near future... What I meant was the CS phone lines. 1 year push forward to take a cancelled order is a little odd.

 

[Evotion]

Phew, different seats then...

Was worried that they had given my car away.

Imagine THAT call..

CS: Er, we regret to inform you that, due to an internal error with our systems, that your car build was incorrectly supplied to somebody a year out. As a result, we are very sorry to say that your next build slot is September 2023 and only Shadow Grey is available.

 

[TomE]

Don’t joke, they’ve already done that to several pre-reveal depositors’ cars, handing them over instead to post reveal people

 

[Forlorn]

Don’t joke, they’ve already done that to several pre-reveal depositors’ cars, handing them over instead to post reveal people

Crikey has that happened. The plot thickens for pre-reveal customers. Talk about professionalism - !!!. It gets worse doesn’t it.

You must have a great database of information Tom.

 

[TomE]

I don't mean they built my actual car and then handed it to someone else. I mean they told me (and other pre-revealers) that our cars were delayed due to parts supply issue, then they built and delivered identical spec cars for people with later deposits.

 

[Forlorn]

I don't mean they built my actual car and then handed it to someone else. I mean they told me (and other pre-revealers) that our cars were delayed due to parts supply issue, then they built and delivered identical spec cars for people with later deposits.

That’s even worse. Do you feel that Pre-reveal have been badly looked after, I feel that have made an internal decision that pre-reveal are guaranteed orders, so push them back, do the dirty in them as they won’t cancel.
Let’s focus our attention on new customers - let the old Lotus diehards suffer.
Guess I am just so paranoid now.

 

[xen]

That’s even worse. Do you feel that Pre-reveal have been badly looked after, I feel that have made an internal decision that pre-reveal are guaranteed orders, so push them back, do the dirty in them as they won’t cancel.
Let’s focus our attention on new customers - let the old Lotus diehards suffer.
Guess I am just so paranoid now.

Brings Hanlon's razor to mind.

 

[TomE]

That’s even worse. Do you feel that Pre-reveal have been badly looked after, I feel that have made an internal decision that pre-reveal are guaranteed orders, so push them back, do the dirty in them as they won’t cancel.
Let’s focus our attention on new customers - let the old Lotus diehards suffer.
Guess I am just so paranoid now.

As with most things at Lotus, I’m more inclined to think it’s a cock up rather than a conspiracy.

I think someone made a mistake when re-doing the build schedules in June and accidentally sorted the pre-reveal folks based on date of converted deposit paid to Lotus HQ rather than date of original deposit paid to dealer. But it also varies by dealer, so something else is a factor too.

No one at Lotus will admit it or provide any explanation. I’ve asked multiple times, not just for mine but also on behalf of the 15-20 other people I’m aware are in the same situation.

No one at Lotus seems to care, so we just have to accept that’s how it is and act accordingly. I’ll make a decision after my 16 Dec test drives.

 

[Forlorn]

As with most things at Lotus, I’m more inclined to think it’s a cock up rather than a conspiracy.

I think someone made a mistake when re-doing the build schedules in June and accidentally sorted the pre-reveal folks based on date of converted deposit paid to Lotus HQ rather than date of original deposit paid to dealer. But it also varies by dealer, so something else is a factor too.

No one at Lotus will admit it or provide any explanation. I’ve asked multiple times, not just for mine but also on behalf of the 15-20 other people I’m aware are in the same situation.

No one at Lotus seems to care, so we just have to accept that’s how it is and act accordingly. I’ll make a decision after my 16 Dec test drives.

To which, I am really looking forward your response and analysis.

 

[Forlorn]

Brings Hanlon's razor to mind.

Yes it does, and I have a visit to the shrink booked. I may be a different person when posting afterwards.

 

[Cwolf]

U.S. depositor from July '21. Still being told I should have my Emira by end of October this year. We'll see.

 

[kitkat]

U.S. depositor from July '21. Still being told I should have my Emira by end of October this year. We'll see.

No reports of U.S. production yet, which means no shipping, no indication of regulations clearance — it’s September in a few days. Shipping takes about 30 days alone without any additional transport.

It’s not happening in October.

 

[Cwolf]

No reports of U.S. production yet, which means no shipping, no indication of regulations clearance — it’s September in a few days. Shipping takes about 30 days alone without any additional transport.

It’s not happening in October.

Was told two weeks ago it will be built in Sept. Get here and sit in port for 4 weeks due to regulations clearance, hence end of October. I am in the first batch (six cars) they are sending to NC. But believe me, I am not expecting it to be here then.

 

[Bigred911s1]

Lotus has proven how horrible they are in following up on the hype of the Emira and letting us down. No communication from them. Great way to treat your customers Lotus

 

[Cwolf]

Lotus has proven how horrible they are in following up on the hype of the Emira and letting us down. No communication from them. Great way to treat your customers Lotus

Agree completely. I always have to call the dealer to try and get any update.

 

[DMc]

So I have just had notice of a delay until 2024 for my First () edition!
I will tell myself that's its so they can iron out the niggles!

Jyna has stopped export of Gallium rare earth semiconductor. Could this be why the delay?

 

[kin]

Jyna has stopped export of Gallium rare earth semiconductor. Could this be why the delay?

No, their production lines are cruising along, NA production stalls are for other reasons. We don't know what those reasons are, but it is not because they can't manufacture enough cars in time.

The prevailing current theory is that CARB regulations are holding Lotus up with the Emira, and because those regulations essentially dictate whether or not they can sell cars in a large amount of US states, that's the reason for NA's delays.

Ultimately though we have no clue what the real reason is.

 

[Eagle7]

One of the reasons for the delay could be that the 700 cars promised for North America are going to have to be sold for $11,000 less than otherwise because they're price-protected. That's a $7,700,000 loss in the eyes of the bean counters. Never mind that those 700 people have paid their order deposit and been waiting almost 2 1/2 years. Bean counters don't care about that, they only look at the numbers.

The other possibility is they may be concerned about a flood of orders once those 700 cars start showing up on the streets. The Emira is supposed to be their last ICE car, not the most successful car they've ever built or are currently building. We know they're supposed to be switching over to all electric in the next couple of years, so dragging their feet on delivering cars to the U.S. could be to minimize an explosion of orders for Emiras.

Since the Type 135 is also supposedly coming out in 2025, that's only 15 months from now, which I would guess means a preview debut at Goodwood FOS, which is about 9 months away. If they're hoping for a surge of orders for that next summer, that could possibly help move a lot of interest away from the Emira. Depends on the price too I would think. One of the big draws for the Emira originally was its price point. I don't see the Type 135 being below $100k which moves it out of the range of the majority of the market, especially now with inflation and current economic struggles.

We or at least the dealers, were told that N.A. production would begin in September. Since they're only producing Monday-Thursday, that means there's only 4 production days left now in September. Yeah... not gonna happen. I won't be at all surprised to find out production is now planned to start in January, so all the expenses for that can be rolled over to next year on the books, which would make this year look better financially than last year. Whenever corporations are doing things that don't seem to make sense, it usually has something to do with money.

 

[Zardoz]

One of the reasons for the delay could be that the 700 cars promised for North America are going to have to be sold for $11,000 less than otherwise because they're price-protected. That's a $7,700,000 loss in the eyes of the bean counters. Never mind that those 700 people have paid their order deposit and been waiting almost 2 1/2 years. Bean counters don't care about that, they only look at the numbers.

The other possibility is they may be concerned about a flood of orders once those 700 cars start showing up on the streets. The Emira is supposed to be their last ICE car, not the most successful car they've ever built or are currently building. We know they're supposed to be switching over to all electric in the next couple of years, so dragging their feet on delivering cars to the U.S. could be to minimize an explosion of orders for Emiras.

Since the Type 135 is also supposedly coming out in 2025, that's only 15 months from now, which I would guess means a preview debut at Goodwood FOS, which is about 9 months away. If they're hoping for a surge of orders for that next summer, that could possibly help move a lot of interest away from the Emira. Depends on the price too I would think. One of the big draws for the Emira originally was its price point. I don't see the Type 135 being below $100k which moves it out of the range of the majority of the market, especially now with inflation and current economic struggles.

We or at least the dealers, were told that N.A. production would begin in September. Since they're only producing Monday-Thursday, that means there's only 4 production days left now in September. Yeah... not gonna happen. I won't be at all surprised to find out production is now planned to start in January, so all the expenses for that can be rolled over to next year on the books, which would make this year look better financially than last year. Whenever corporations are doing things that don't seem to make sense, it usually has something to do with money.

As of today British lb is .82 to US Dollar.. Up from .79 in August. Lotus will be making more money on US cars if they could be sold now. Who knows where the pound will be when US Emiras arrive. Lotus is missing the boat on exchange rate