Production line pictures

[Toomanyloti]

Lots of cars on the line in build but no sign of people building then.
Were these taken out side of normal shift hours?

The traffic cones dont look at all like something one would see in a factory?? A soon as I saw them I thought this is all staged....

 

[Scruff111S]

And shemee is in US so he asked Lotus for delay himself

In my view, there is no need to ask for a delay, as that is happening anyway.

 

[Mistral]

Reading these posts is worrying about UK aftersales service, Lotus has never been very good for this and it looks like it will be even worse for us UK owners!!

Aftersales service has been on my mind for quite a while too, but look on the bright side. Now that Geoff Dowding has mastered the keyboard, who knows what's possible!

 

[TomE]

Lots of cars on the line in build but no sign of people building then.
Were these taken out side of normal shift hours?

I believe they were taken on Friday, which is normally a non-production day while they do training, line maintenance etc. Most staff finish at midday.

 

[TomE]

The traffic cones dont look at all like something one would see in a factory?? A soon as I saw them I thought this is all staged....

It was staged - it was a press tour of the production facility.

 

[TomE]

Here's another picture from Friday, showing RHD production cars parked up outside at Hethel. My hunch is these are RHD cars awaiting shortage parts in order to finish them. If they were complete they would have been shipped to BCA for PDI and if they were very incomplete they wouldn't have the nose badge fitted. Could be dealer demos, but the mix of colours doesn't tally with what I think the dealers have ordered.

Pic: Michael Hipperson

 

[EspritGuy]

I agree with that. I'm fond of conjecture, probably because a career in corporate sales and marketing has led me to ponder client actions and what they might or might not do, given various alternative scenarios. Often necessary when the full picture isn't clear.

Geely bought a majority share in Lotus because they consider it a premier brand, or rather, one which could be marketed as such. Lotus may be reasonably well known in the UK but it's not in the markets Geely sees as being their most important, China, Europe, USA etc, and the Emira is important in promoting the brand in those markets for the Eletre and the subsequent EV cars to follow. All or most of those markets have LHD so at some point Geely directed Lotus to prioritise LHD components with their suppliers. Obviously, the suppliers cannot admit to that and Lotus would never do so, hence the delays and subterfuge with the UK demonstrater and customer cars. LHD cars have already been shipped to Europe and the USA, and, the assembly line photos from yesterday show a number of cars destined for China.

Meanwhile, four of the RHD cars produced were for the driver academy, which pays for itself through the charges levied. Presumably the UK people were considered content to pay a not insignificant sum for an early test drive. The UK dealers, who have invested considerable sums to be authorised Lotus dealers, are starved of information because of the new direct sales channel, probably deliberately, as are the 2000 plus UK depositers, because they are not considered important in the Geely strategy. The dealers don't know for sure when they'll receive their demonstrater cars, nor do the UK depositers who've already checked out know when they'll receive their cars. The rest of us don't even know when we'll check out.

Geely probably intervened after the Emira launch when they observed the initial reactions from the early depositers and recognised the potential, leaving Lotus to manage the UK situation, which they've done by hardly communicating directly and withholding information from LCC. Geoff Dowding's Friday email committed to nothing more than further communication soon, which, as we've already observed, despite promises, hasn't been happening for most of this year.

Citing parts shortages, but mainly for RHD cars because that's how the ordering was done, would seem to confirm my conjecture and it does fit the current situation.

Interesting read. Something to also ponder is
why North America received just 700 FE (sold out by Sept 2021)
while FE orders continued in the UK well into 2Q 2022.
Something about 'Anyone who wants an FE can get one.'

#For the Drivers Soon

 

[Mistral]

Interesting read. Something to also ponder is
why North America received just 700 FE (sold out by Sept 2021)
while FE orders continued in the UK well into 2Q 2022.
Something about 'Anyone who wants an FE can get one.'

#For the Drivers Soon

It's an interesting point, which I hadn't considered and for which I have no answer. If the FE is a premium offering, why not limit the UK market too? My conjecture was that Lotus can only build primarily LHD cars if they prioritised LHD parts when ordering.

 

[xen]

Did anyone else see this on IG? I really hope VIP means something other than I think it does.

I might be in the minority but this stinks. I can understand reviewers / friends of the brand getting their cars earlier or first dibs at allocations but aside from that everyone’s car should be the same and get the same care and attention.

Designating a build a VIP car means what exactly?

 

[Pops68]

Objectively, just means to me that nepotism is at play here. Aka, if you're an important person and not a peon, you get to cut the line and get priority.

It's always been that way. Doesn't make it palatable or right for us peons though. "It's good to be the King."

 

[FederGigant]

Maybe we just wait for the video, that might clarify it. Other than that, Harry (if the "VIP car" is his, which I assume) probably was one of the first persons to order the Emira anyways.

 

[LIQUIX]

According to Harry, this is why it was marked VIP. How true this is though is another story

 

[schorsch]

Did anyone else see this on IG? I really hope VIP means something other than I think it does.

View attachment 9826

I might be in the minority but this stinks. I can understand reviewers / friends of the brand getting their cars earlier or first dibs at allocations but aside from that everyone’s car should be the same and get the same care and attention.

Designating a build a VIP car means what exactly?

I think it means Verification Prototype. One of the white preproduction cars that was filmed had a VIP badge on it whi h supposedly stood for Verification Prototype.

 

[xen]

I think it means Verification Prototype. One of the white preproduction cars that was filmed had a VIP badge on it whi h supposedly stood for Verification Prototype.

I thought this at first but they can’t be building them at this stage

 

[xen]

According to Harry, this is why it was marked VIP. How true this is though is another story

View attachment 9827

That’s certainly plausible…if true it’s a pretty poor choice of words.

 

[Pegasi]

Asia NYO seats

I have Googled this and can't find anything concrete. What does NYO mean?

 

[donskibeat]

I have Googled this and can't find anything concrete. What does NYO mean?

lotus nyo - Google Search

 

[Pegasi]

lotus nyo - Google Search

Thank you. I was looking for a geographical region of sorts.

 

[TomE]

Interesting read. Something to also ponder is
why North America received just 700 FE (sold out by Sept 2021)
while FE orders continued in the UK well into 2Q 2022.
Something about 'Anyone who wants an FE can get one.'

#For the Drivers Soon

It's partly covered in the Harry's Garage video - there are caps on FE numbers by country. From something else I read, I believe this may be linked to emissions or other regulations such that Lotus can't produce more than a certain number without having to comply with stricter regulations. They haven't hit that number in the UK yet and I believe 5,000 cars was mentioned as the trigger point for total EU + UK.

 

[TomE]

I think it means Verification Prototype. One of the white preproduction cars that was filmed had a VIP badge on it whi h supposedly stood for Verification Prototype.

Verification cars are designated "VP" rather than "VIP"

Pic: Pistonheads