Lotus announces 2024 delivery numbers

Lotus delivered 12,065 vehicles in 2024, representing a year-on-year increase of over 70% and boasting the top growth rate among leading luxury brands. China contributed approximately 25% of the total global deliveries in 2024.

In 2025, the Company aims to increase global deliveries by 20% with a 25-28% contribution from China. Lotus also successfully reclaimed the proprietary rights of the LOTUS roundel, LOTUS word mark and the Chinese character of Lotus ("莲花") in China, achieving consistency in terms of its trademark across the world.


Well done to Lotus for hitting their revised target of 12,000 deliveries in a very tough market. On the other hand:

1. They did a lot of discounting to achieve those deliveries, especially in the UK.
2. The IPO forecast for 2024 deliveries was 47,000 vehicles, so 12,000 isn't really something to be celebrated.
3. The new 2025 target of around 14,500 vehicles is a massive reduction from their original IPO forecast. It's only about 20% of the 73,000 vehicles they told investors they intended to deliver in 2025.
4. The modest 2025 target makes it clear that TYP 134 will not be coming out until 2026.

3

 

[Jinba ittai]

Not surprising when their forecasts relied heavy on Chinese built electric vehicles which have been slapped with 100% tariffs in several markets. I’m not in PR but sometimes I think you’re better to own it and be honest about the situation. No body is buying the spin that these are good sales numbers.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

Not surprising when their forecasts relied heavy on Chinese built electric vehicles which have been slapped with 100% tariffs in several markets. I’m not in PR but sometimes I think you’re better to own it and be honest about the situation. No body is buying the spin that these are good sales numbers.

The bigger problem is that the Eletre and Emeya just aren't desirable vehicles. Even at the pre-tariff price point, they haven't been selling.

 

[Jinba ittai]

The bigger problem is that the Eletre and Emeya just aren't desirable vehicles. Even at the pre-tariff price point, they haven't been selling.

That’s true. The Emira value proposition seems to be - pay a premium for one of a kind driving dynamics and stunning good looks. The Eletre and Emeya proposition is what? Pay a premium for luxury? There’s a lot of players in that space and I’m not sure the Lotus product is different enough. Now there’s talk of pivoting to hybrid power trains but that’s not going to fix the issue.

 

[brainf18]

Geely and Lotus bet in the expanding EV market to make its sales projection. Of course they were spectacularly wrong. The timing of Lotus' EV products could not have been worse along with tariffs and political headwinds. The only bright spot is the Emira has sold well and demand seems to be solid but who knows how long that will last.

 

[Jinba ittai]

Maybe an unpopular opinion on here, but I’m anti-boring car not anti-electric. Wait, was that a double negative? I have a deposit down for a Type 135 and think it will be a nice alternative to the Emira. I’m excited to compare and contrast them. I just hope Lotus’ poor financial performance doesn’t cause them to dramatically change or scrap the Type 135 all together.

 

[freefall_junkie]

All this makes me wonder if at some stage Geely might just pull the plug on Lotus entirely . There are plenty of examples of major manufacturers giving up on brands which aren't working for them. Think of Toyota with Scion, GM with Pontiac and Hummer, Mazda with Xedos, and VAG is soon going to be retiring Seat. I really hope Lotus can turn it around somehow because these sales figures are not going to impress anyone at Geely HQ.

 

[seriously]

Their projections for the eletre and emeya are totally ridiculous. That will certainly fail. As someone said, the cars themselves are just not compelling regardless of that badge they wear or the drivetrain. At best they are interesting. "Interesting" doesn't lead to big sales.

 

[B r I a n]

I think that equates to about 9k Lotus Emira's in 2024.

 

[Jinba ittai]

I think that equates to about 9k Lotus Emira's in 2024.

So counting on 6k Emira, sold 9k. Counting on 41K Eletre and Emeya, sold 3K? Hmmm…

 

[Hethel Merman]

Their Chinese factory was set up to build 150,000 units a year.

 

[DeltaTL6]

I sure hope they stay around so we don't have to worry about warranty and parts for the years to come. I plan on keeping it.

Separately: Am I the only one having no idea what the chart is supposed to tell me?

 

[Jinba ittai]

Separately: Am I the only one having no idea what the chart is supposed to tell me?

Thousands of cars they were expecting to sell in each year broken down by model.

 

[DeltaTL6]

Thousands of cars they were expecting to sell in each year broken down by model.

Thanks! That's what they PLANNED! No wonder they made no sense to me, the numbers were all too large.

Love your user name by the way.

 

[Bulls-Vivid-Red]

The Eletre looks pretty good in person, even has a well done interior. When it was a roughly $110K to $140K car it wasn't the worst deal in the world for something relatively unique.

With the effect of 100% tariffs on the pricing, it'll be impossible to move these things. The Eletre R 280 mile listed range is WLTP standard, which translates to roughly 238 miles via the EPA standards.......expect real world numbers to be even less than that later number. Sad that you can't even get 1 mile of range per thousand dollars spent!

Lotus Eletre – Specs, Features and More | Lotus Cars Netherlands

Explore the details that define the precision, power, and performance of the Lotus Eletre. Everything you want to know about top speed, weight and dimensions.

www.lotuscars.com

As for the Emeya, that thing is so damn ugly from the outside it won't sell at any price.

 

[Steve24]

Frankly I think Lotus are a victim of the dopey lefty “all electric” bollocks.

They put all their eggs in that basket because that was the zeitgeist at the time, but now all that is changing and they may get caught with their pants down.

The good news is I think they are waking up and may in fact manage to save themselves in time. I certainly hope so.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

The Eletre looks pretty good in person, even has a well done interior.

As for the Emeya, that thing is so damn ugly from the outside it won't sell at any price.

Agree, the interiors are excellent. It's subjective, but I'd say that Eletre looks ok but not great, and Emeya looks pretty awful.

Plus, they are too big and too heavy. They are too expensive for the Lotus brand. Even compared to other EVs, they don't come close to achieving their stated range. And finally, they have reliability problems which are totally unacceptable at this price point.