Lotus suspends production of its Emira sports cars

Headline of article just published in local (East Anglia, England) newspaper. But don't worry, it's temporary.

Text reads:

Lotus has suspended the production of one of its sports cars at its Norfolk factory, sending staff home.

The Hethel-based car manufacturer has temporarily paused production of its Emira sports cars after announcing this week that new models will replace its first editions.

It comes after Lotus finally received US emissions certification to sell its Emira sports cars across the Atlantic.

Emira was first announced for the US market in 2021, but despite hundreds being shipped to the country they had been stuck at dealerships as Lotus awaited certification by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) - the emissions approval needed in 14 states.

A Lotus spokesman said: "With the latest Emira model year now certified, Lotus Cars has temporarily paused Emira production in the factory to prepare manufacturing for this.

"During this time, the business is focused on improving production operations to restart operations at optimised efficiency.

"We are working through these updates to get full production resuming as soon as possible."

 

[RoryBellows]

I wonder if my car is sitting there half built during the shutdown.

 

[MikeR]

Rory, I don’t think you have much to worry about. My V6 FE got stuck part-built during the 2023 summer Hethel factory shutdown and has been issue free for 18 months and 13,000 miles. It was frustrating at the time but turned out to be a top quality build.

 

[Eagle7]

Actually November 15th, almost 4 months ago.

But maybe they needed to do everything again for a new model year.

If I remember right, they've increased the torque by 50 nm for the new models which indicates an updated engine tune, and that would require a recertification. I notice their 0-60 time has lowered to 4.0 too. I wonder if this update tune would be something we could get for our cars?

 

[Six Speed Stephen]

If I remember right, they've increased the torque by 50 nm for the new models which indicates an updated engine tune, and that would require a recertification. I notice their 0-60 time has lowered to 4.0 too. I wonder if this update tune would be something we could get for our cars?

Hope it ships with a stronger axle shaft/diff!

 

[David s]

Whatever happened to investigative journalism?
If that publication needs ideas:
- state of the business: what's driving Lotus?
- how are downward EV trends affecting Lotus product plans?
- what impact might tariffs have on the business?
- what impact will emissions regulations have near term?
- generational shifts in sports car interest: are you car-curious?
- is tech putting the brakes on the 3rd pedal?
- automation versus the artisan in assembly
- the soul of a car and emotion of its use
- Lotus expands brand-loyalty bandwidth

Otherwise, the media credo remains 'Add tritness and amplify.'
Rant over.

Journalism is just another form of advertising. You pay for whatever you want them to report…or more importantly, what NOT to report.

 

[seriously]

If trump goes ahead with reciprocal tariffs on April 2nd - then UK cars go from the current 2.5% to 10% (increase of 7.5% - since the UK charges 10% for American Cars) - But who knows? The UK could also remove the import tariff on American cars to zero. That should satisfy the "reciprocal" part at least.

Interestingly American cars are relatively expensive in the UK and considered something of a luxury. We don’t typical think of American cars in the same way in the US.

 

[Orchardbike]

Errrm, we don’t think American cars are something of a luxury……

 

[Lotustoronto]

Interestingly American cars are relatively expensive in the UK and considered something of a luxury. We don’t typical think of American cars in the same way in the US.

gotta agree with @Orchardbike - Ford is a beloved US brand in the UK (Fiesta ST hot hatch!), but in the land of Rolls Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, Mclaren and Range Rovers, I don't think they would classify American cars as luxury.

 

[virtualmacho]

They're not practical, therefore a luxury.

 

[seriously]

Errrm, we don’t think American cars are something of a luxury……

When I said something of a luxury, perhaps that's better stated that the American brands are I think pretty favorably viewed aboard and significantly more expensive than the US depending on the market. Certainly not a luxury car in the traditional sense.

My perspective is skewed by my own bias against US cars with few exceptions.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

When I said something of a luxury, perhaps that's better stated that the American brands are I think pretty favorably viewed aboard

Buick, Cadillac, Chevy, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Jeep, Lincoln, Lucid, Ram, Rivian, Tesla.

Nope, just don't agree with you. In Europe, Ford is a shadow of what it was 20 years ago but is still well-regarded and "part of the fabric" in countries like the UK. Tesla has done an amazing job in the EV market, though they have probably peaked.

Beyond that, none of the US car brands are highly respected in markets like Europe, Japan or Australia. In fact, GM and Chrysler have effectively exited Europe and Australia/NZ except for niche models.

Sure, there's a rich history that people admire, and there are individual car models that are respected (Corvette, Mustang, etc) but most Europeans think of American cars as handling poorly, crude design, sloppy manufacturing, cheap interiors, too big, gas guzzlers, etc.

 

[seriously]

Buick, Cadillac, Chevy, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Jeep, Lincoln, Lucid, Ram, Rivian, Tesla.

Nope, just don't agree with you. Ford is well-regarded and very much "part of the fabric" in countries like the UK. Tesla has done an amazing job in the EV market, though they have probably peaked.

Beyond that, none of the US car brands are highly respected in markets like Europe, Japan or Australia. Sure, there is a rich history that people admire, and there are individual car models that are respected (Corvette, Mustang, etc) but most Europeans think of American cars as handling poorly, crude design, cheap interiors, gas guzzlers, etc.

I stand corrected and I'm happy to be wrong. My experience was a very small sample size 20 years ago.

Honestly, I was just shocked that anyone thought American cars were good. Because I really dislike the overall ethos and resulting products.

 

[Orchardbike]

When I said something of a luxury, perhaps that's better stated that the American brands are I think pretty favorably viewed aboard and significantly more expensive than the US depending on the market. Certainly not a luxury car in the traditional sense.

My perspective is skewed by my own bias against US cars with few exceptions.

No, not very favourably viewed.
They’re viewed pretty much as ‘Nick in Sydney’ said.

 

[JimH]

And.... back in the room (spoiler - more paywalled clickbait...)

Lotus staff to return to work after being sent home for a fortnight

Staff at Lotus will return to work next week after being sent home for a fortnight while production was put on hold at its Hethel factory in Norfolk.

www.edp24.co.uk

 

[Foxy87]

Buick, Cadillac, Chevy, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Jeep, Lincoln, Lucid, Ram, Rivian, Tesla.

Nope, just don't agree with you. In Europe, Ford is a shadow of what it was 20 years ago but is still well-regarded and "part of the fabric" in countries like the UK. Tesla has done an amazing job in the EV market, though they have probably peaked.

Beyond that, none of the US car brands are highly respected in markets like Europe, Japan or Australia. In fact, GM and Chrysler have effectively exited Europe and Australia/NZ except for niche models.

Sure, there's a rich history that people admire, and there are individual car models that are respected (Corvette, Mustang, etc) but most Europeans think of American cars as handling poorly, crude design, sloppy manufacturing, cheap interiors, too big, gas guzzlers, etc.

This so much. American cars (with some expectations like a few models. for example corvette) are definitely not seen as favourable cars in europe, its quite the opposite actually…