Only three more years of ICE Emira?

[Lotustoronto]

Well - it’s looks like 2028 might infact be the end.

Lotus to go electric from 2028, petrol Emira on the chopping block

The life of the final road-legal, petrol sports car from the UK's Lotus will be cut short in plans to sell electric cars only from 2028.

www.drive.com.au

 

[eriegz]

Well - it’s looks like 2028 might infact be the end.

Lotus to go electric from 2028, petrol Emira on the chopping block

The life of the final road-legal, petrol sports car from the UK's Lotus will be cut short in plans to sell electric cars only from 2028.

www.drive.com.au

So, 5 more years, just to circle back to the question in the title of this thread.

 

[Falcouver]

So, 5 more years, just to circle back to the question in the title of this thread.

Lol I have a feeling these years will keep getting pushed back as the world will stick to ICE longer and longer, not the other way around. The run against the emission targets/EVs and them getting pushed back reminds me of Lotus asking us to wait a couple more months for "potential" upcoming production quarter after quarter with constant delays. There is always a carrot that we chase. But what will actually happen really ? My money is on more delays of "ending production plans" and stretched timelines of what currently works.

I can't imagine a "Lotus sports car division" built, low volume Emira will get chopped while "projected" to deliver one of the best sales performance in its history. (vol relative to Emeyas and Eletres from China or a different site in Hethel)

I'm also seeing regularly popping posts of Toyota V6 and manuals getting discontinued very soon and it makes me giggle. (like several in-the-know people I observe here suggested this most popular combo/powertrain will end as soon as 2025 and 2026 being latest! Yet we still didnt get a single delivery in NA going into 2024)

Even IF Toyota somehow stops making these, I bet Lotus with China's backing, is capable of storing as many powertrains as they like for a planned future production. Even if emission regulations go sideways in some parts of the world, they can continue to make as many as they want for the regions like North America as long as we keep buying them here.

Lotus is in the business to make money. Emira is their Halo car. Killing or corrupting Emira with BEV conversions pre-maturely sounds nonsense to me and would for anyone with a business sense in Hethel/China I would think. To put this into perspective, imagine Mazda discontinuing Miata or turning it to a full blown EV anytime before late 2030s. And they are not a North American manufacturer, nor have any Chinese funds backing them up.

All this "end" stuff smells hype to me. Don't know who/what entity drives these rumours, but I wouldn't pay too much attention to these theories unless we hear directly from an official Lotus communication, announcing their future plans for the Emira platform. Not from these screenshots with plenty of typos and errors and potentially expired drafts.

Building hype and fear of missing out can be good for managing cancellations and holding deposits, but it backfires like this when your deliveries are delayed for over 3 years, without any clear communication for business direction. Articifial scarcity leaves a bad taste both with the buyers (wait lists, disgusting markups) and potential aftermarket businesses (imagine companies believing V6 will soon get discontinued and stop investment for future development) And it drives the community crazy with all these theories running wild.

 

[kja1081]

Emira is their Halo car.

I don't think of the Emira as a halo car for Lotus. If anything it's the Evija. I think best case scenario, Lotus allows both ICE and BEV but realistically, Emira will be completely BEV at the end of the road...
My hope is that IF Lotus does transition the Emira to full BEV, they pull out all the stops for the true final edition ICE Emira.

 

[MajHall04]

Lotus to go electric from 2028, petrol Emira on the chopping block

The life of the final road-legal, petrol sports car from the UK's Lotus will be cut short in plans to sell electric cars only from 2028.

www.drive.com.au

 

[Toomanyloti]

I think it will take a generation or two for anyone to think an electric car (sports or otherwise) will take the same place as an ICE machine like the Emira.
Lets be fair all those who have had the facility of living with both must surely agree that after the initial acceleration and appreciating that its a modern marvel even my Taycan 4S is completely and utterly boring compared to the slower Emira. It's not completely fair to compare but its as near as it get at the moment.

Moderator note: part of post related to EV policies removed

 

[CHEESE]

Guess I'll have to go ahead and place a deposit for a "Final Edition Emira GT" when I go to pick up my FE from the dealership...

 

[Maurice R]

Why don’t we put a Toyota badge on back.
It’s just a Camry with fancy body work.
95% of people don’t know what a Lotus is anyway.

 

[JClem]

Rishi just pushed the back ban on ICE sales another five years. Perhaps Emiras will continue for another 10/11 years? More likely Starmer gets in next year and reverses it immediately.

I don't envy car manufacturers at the moment. How can you plan product lines when government policy is, globally, so inconsistent?