Prices increase update from Lotus - and stopping of reservations for V6 FE

Please be advised that, as a result of significantly increasing costs, the Lotus Emira will later this year be subject to new pricing.

Whilst a significant level of cost increase has been absorbed, with effect from 1 June 2023, the retail price will increase to £81,995 (incl VAT) for the Emira V6 First Edition, and £77,795 (incl VAT) for the Emira First Edition 4-cylinder turbocharged variant. Full pricing details can be found on our website. However, your Emira reservation will not be affected by this increase, we can confirm your reservation has been price protected.

We are fully committed to our production schedule and in the next two weeks, we will be in touch via email to update you further on the progression of your Lotus Emira.

Due to overwhelming demand, we will be closing reservations for Lotus Emira V6 First Edition. We will be sharing the exact timings soon.

 

[PhilCP]

I've not received any email from Lotus in regard to the pricing. I wonder if they were sending them in batches and stopped the process when they received a deluge of responses / backlash?

My neither.
Last I heard my order was scheduled for May production.
Any other UK depositors still awaiting the pricing email?

 

[Twin Cam]

An awful lot of people on this thread seem to be angry I4 depositors. Which is fair, but we should recognize that the I4 version is a car that has never been launched or shown by Lotus in any formal way to the Western public, ever. Not as a prototype, not as a press car, not at all.

The Goodwood launch in 2021 showed the V6 car and the order book opened for that car, with clear guidance that the FE would be first and everything else would come later. I4 was mentioned as well but very clearly was a future product, not the car being immediately launched by Lotus. And now in 2023, it still hasn't been launched.

What I'm saying is that placing a deposit on the I4 was always speculative. It wasn't a concrete transactional deposit on an expected production car the way the V6 FE was, and is.

No offense intended. I just think some perspective about the difference in situation is warranted. People with long standing V6 FE orders that are being shafted on build date technicality are right to be angry. But I4? Be angry that the product doesn't exist yet, sure, but there has still been no concrete evidence that it's even a product that's developed enough to produce. The price was always going to move with time, and the car is still squarely in vaporware territory as far as I can tell.

I know it’s down to perspective, but I can’t agree with you on this, neither version of the Emira was available at launch, that Lotus chose to build the V6 first was their business decision, both models were offered.
I am i4 and I am angry that I have had a video sent to me from the MD promising me that the the price I was quoted was the price I would pay, apparently this is no longer the case. Also, my i4 was originaly supposed to be available in 2022, a matter of months after the V6

 

[Porter]

I know it’s down to perspective, but I can’t agree with you on this, neither version of the Emira was available at launch, that Lotus chose to build the V6 first was their business decision, both models were offered.
I am i4 and I am angry that I have had a video sent to me from the MD promising me that the the price I was quoted was the price I would pay, apparently this is no longer the case. Also, my i4 was originaly supposed to be available in 2022, a matter of months after the V6

Right but when was the order book opened? The V6 was shown to the public, demonstrated with multiple journalists, shown in early production process in factory, and then delivered. We've seen absolutely zero in terms of a similar escalation of readiness for the I4.

I just can't see how any reasonable person could assume that Lotus is hiding an I4 product in a production-ready form that they are about to "surprise deliver" to dealers for handover to customers. At this point I honestly expect it will be 2024 at earliest before anyone sees a customer-owned I4 car on Western roads. Lotus started delivering V6 cars to customers in 2022. The 2 year gap itself shows the thing that I'm talking about.

 

[Lotustoronto]

Right but when was the order book opened? The V6 was shown to the public, demonstrated with multiple journalists, shown in early production process in factory, and then delivered. We've seen absolutely zero in terms of a similar escalation of readiness for the I4.

I just can't see how any reasonable person could assume that Lotus is hiding an I4 product in a production-ready form that they are about to "surprise deliver" to dealers for handover to customers. At this point I honestly expect it will be 2024 at earliest before anyone sees a customer-owned I4 car on Western roads. Lotus started delivering V6 cars to customers in 2022. The 2 year gap itself shows the thing that I'm talking about.

Any UK i4 customers on the forum that placed a second deposit for an i4 and told to lock in a spec? I am pretty sure I remember hearing about this a while ago, that some early i4 depositors were asked to submit configurations on the i4.....

 

[Off The Shelf]

The MD made a vow to customers who had paid up to that point that the price quoted upon deposit would be the price paid. “That is my promise to you.”

If judged on his words, he has lied.

If judged on his deeds, he has not delivered.

MD needs to go.

 

[Cutting42]

Any UK i4 customers on the forum that placed a second deposit for an i4 and told to lock in a spec? I am pretty sure I remember hearing about this a while ago, that some early i4 depositors were asked to submit configurations on the i4.....

Yup, I have a locked in spec on an FE i4. 8th July 2021 initial deposit and second deposit 12th April 2022

Oh and a price rise on the 15th Feb 2023 :-(

 

[Porter]

Yup, I have a locked in spec on an FE i4. 8th July 2021 initial deposit and second deposit 12th April 2022

Oh and a price rise on the 15th Feb 2023 :-(

The third deposit is the one that places the order though, right? Has any I4 customer placed a third deposit yet?

 

[EM12AAM]

An awful lot of people on this thread seem to be angry I4 depositors. Which is fair, but we should recognize that the I4 version is a car that has never been launched or shown by Lotus in any formal way to the Western public, ever. Not as a prototype, not as a press car, not at all.

The Goodwood launch in 2021 showed the V6 car and the order book opened for that car, with clear guidance that the FE would be first and everything else would come later. I4 was mentioned as well but very clearly was a future product, not the car being immediately launched by Lotus. And now in 2023, it still hasn't been launched.

What I'm saying is that placing a deposit on the I4 was always speculative. It wasn't a concrete transactional deposit on an expected production car the way the V6 FE was, and is.

No offense intended. I just think some perspective about the difference in situation is warranted. People with long standing V6 FE orders that are being shafted on build date technicality are right to be angry. But I4? Be angry that the product doesn't exist yet, sure, but there has still been no concrete evidence that it's even a product that's developed enough to produce. The price was always going to move with time, and the car is still squarely in vaporware territory as far as I can tell.

There may be "an awful lot of... i4 depositors" but there are plenty of us that have deposits down on V6 FEs too - I'd say it was about 50-50 tbh. My deposit was taken on Friday 13 August 2021 which I know is later than many.

I do accept your argument regarding the i4... but then there is Matt Windle's "promise" isn't there. He didn't say they'd try really hard to honour the price or caveat his comments in any way. "The price you have been quoted will be the price you pay".

In my view - with that comment - their action is completely indefensible, especially because the reasons they are citing now were all known at the time of that statement.

I won't pursue this as I'll be out as soon as they call me to try to take my final deposit (if not before) anyway but verbal contracts are binding in the UK and that statement was e-mailed personally to me via a link that is not open to all and could be seen as superseding any previous agreement (i.e. their small print on taking the first two deposits).

 

[KAR120C]

I spoke to lotus CC yesterday who confirmed the price increase was a “global decision across all markets”. I’m a uk depositor for clarity

My dealer confirmed no FE price increase in the US right after getting off the phone with Lotus USA. I hope that Lotus USA is right in this case!

 

[simonb]

I think there is little coincidence that this is "for" the i4, with the cut off as 01/06/23 and first batch of UK i4 (currently) quoted as July build, August delivery. One would assume that the cars built around the cutoff would be to an unaffected market, rather than a dealer receiving two cars on consecutive days with different prices! One would assume that the reservation book for the V6FE will be killed stone dead by this announcement anyway, and anyone after one able to jump on a cancelled slot. I guess those losing interest but ahead of the June delivery cutoff now have a £5500 encouragement to flip rather than cancel

The next issue will be press reviews of the i4 which cant be far off if dealer demonstrators are still on target for April

 

[CDM1855]

I've not received any email from Lotus in regard to the pricing. I wonder if they were sending them in batches and stopped the process when they received a deluge of responses / backlash?

@Gizmo750 I called them up this morning because I also hadn’t received one, it appears that they should have been sent to everyone, so they’re checking if there was a glitch because they are auto sent from the marketing department

 

[Lotustoronto]

@Gizmo750 I called them up this morning because I also hadn’t received one, it appears that they should have been sent to everyone, so they’re checking if there was a glitch because they are auto sent from the marketing department

Lotus with an electronic glitch? No way that is possible .....

 

[EM12AAM]

My dealer confirmed no FE price increase in the US right after getting off the phone with Lotus USA. I hope that Lotus USA is right in this case!

These are not mutually exclusive statements.

It can be true that the price increase was a “global decision across all markets” but that the price increase implemented from that global decision was 8% in the UK and 0% in the USA.

Course it blows a hole in the rationale given the costs of shipping UK made cars to the States (and if you're wondering the exchange rate between the £ and $ hasn't changed that much between Matt Windle's statement and now (although there has been a lot of volatility in between).

 

[JasonR]

The MD made a vow to customers who had paid up to that point that the price quoted upon deposit would be the price paid. “That is my promise to you.”

If judged on his words, he has lied.

If judged on his deeds, he has not delivered.

MD needs to go.

In fairness to Matt, he reports to someone else. I believe Matt would have held up his agreement if not forced to do otherwise. Geely is to blame (at least for the price issue). Most things in the world lead back to China.

 

[Superman]

I got the email yesterday... but as a recent depositor (Jan 2023) for an i4, to be perfectly honest I was expecting some sort of price increase. And to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if by the time my build slot finally comes around, I may be hit by another (annual?) price rise too.

Having said that, I totally get the anger and frustration for early depositors, and certainly not helped by Matt Windle's video 'promise'. I can see this driving a noticeable number of cancellations for sure. I can think of several 'better' ways this could have been handled (just a couple off the top of my head: notifying/implementing price rises earlier; not having Matt Windle making any 'promises' that couldn't be kept; having some sort of staggered increase over the next 6-12 months; setting the price increases by deposit date, not build date).

 

[EM12AAM]

In fairness to Matt, he reports to someone else. I believe Matt would have held up his agreement if not forced to do otherwise. Geely is to blame. Most things in the world lead back to China.

Sure he reports to someone else. He's also a director of a UK company with legal and fiduciary responsibilities but more than that he shouldn't have been making promises that he didn't have the authority to keep.

There really is no justification for this course of events.

 

[millstonebarn]

Long time lurker. First time poster. I got the email notifcation. V6. Deposit placed October '21. Not protected. Build in June. Utter kick in the teeth.

I was twice offered alternative cars that were similar, but not exactly the same, as my spec for earlier delivery but having been reassured by Matt that prices would be held I was happy to wait. Extremely unhappy right now.

 

[krist]

Long time lurker. First time poster. I got the email notifcation. V6. Deposit placed October '21. Not protected. Build in June. Utter kick in the teeth.

I was twice offered alternative cars that were similar, but not exactly the same, as my spec for earlier delivery but having been reassured by Matt that prices would be held I was happy to wait. Extremely unhappy right now.

that sucks. thet's what bothers me most, not that they a raising prices, but that we all lived with the premise the price on the FE was fixed, and based our decisions on it. My i4 was supposed to be delivered in Summer 22. then September, then December, is now "Summer 23" but judging on what is going on it may well be 24. I was first lured to the Base i4 model for a trackday car, light and tunable. I ordered FE, as it was the one available. THen I spoke in June to my delaler (in DE) about delays, and a possible price change. He also assured me the price will not change for FE. He said Base cars will almost surely go up in price, but FE is locked. So for me now it completely does not make sense to keep the i4 FE order. From what lotus is saying, if one can trust it at all, Base i4 will follow FEi4 shortly, will be cheaper than FE, and not colose or even more expensive, as I suspected based on dealer information, and probably at that time I might just as well get a used or demo car. And seeing how untrustworthy Lotus is, I dont want to be a part of the emira show anymore. Its just such a dissapointment.

 

[Captain.Kirk]

... and its gone.

They removed that from the Lotus channel listing. If you view the video directly from the video you posted it now also says "unlisted". I assume it will be taken fully removed later today

I have already downloaded a 1080p copy from YouTube in MP4 format. For what it’s worth.

 

[Keenan]

Any UK i4 customers on the forum that placed a second deposit for an i4 and told to lock in a spec? I am pretty sure I remember hearing about this a while ago, that some early i4 depositors were asked to submit configurations on the i4.....

Yes. I was. I ordered before the official launch of any product. I could chose v6 or i4 at this point. We understood i4 would be 6 months or so after. I then got a call from lotus asking me to spec my car. I chose i4. They then emailed a link where I chose my spec and I had to pay the second larger deposit. This was a year ago. I was told 2 weeks ago my i4 is in the first batch to build. I’m now told the promise of a fix’s price has been withdrawn.

It’s my and many others money cash rolling the production of the v6 product for v6 customers & I don’t take kindly to any v6 customer saying I don’t deserve the deal I baught because I’m patient for an i4.