Toyota Supra Customer Engagement

[BigIan]

It seems there is plenty of discontent about the way Lotus are treating the early Emira adopters. Hopefully Lotus get to read this.

I purchased the first Toyota Supra A90 (1 of 24 UK cars) via a similar process ie. pay a deposit early and wait. There was a timed email release to all interested deposit payers in order to secure an A90 rather than the Pro edition that was coming out at the same time (Sep 2019).

From the moment I paid £1k deposit it was full encapsulation from Toyota.

1. Continual emails congratulating me on securing an A90
2. YouTube vids and pro driver reactions to track tested versions
3. Dealer invites from my local franchise
4. Track day at Thruxton which included a road convoy, history of Toyota lecture, director face to face convo's, track laps self driven, track laps with pro drivers, lunch, stop over etc.... it goes on
5. Certificate through the post confirming exact vehicle
6. Framed images for wall mounting
7. 200 page hard back history of Supra book (Valued at £100)
8. Personalised key fobs

Lotus.... you get the point here.

I moved from a Porsche Cayman S to Supra and it was the best vehicle decision ever furthermore backed up by cracking customer encapsulation and involvement from the offset. I am now on the Jarama Race Track edition of the Supra, as per avatar, as my A90 was poached during the summer by an eager buyer.

The very least we need is a similar feel good factor to be given to us not what we have currently been dealt with which is actually disappointment not excitement.

 

[Mike-engel]

It seems there is plenty of discontent about the way Lotus are treating the early Emira adopters. Hopefully Lotus get to read this.

I purchased the first Toyota Supra A90 (1 of 24 UK cars) via a similar process ie. pay a deposit early and wait. There was a timed email release to all interested deposit payers in order to secure an A90 rather than the Pro edition that was coming out at the same time (Sep 2019).

From the moment I paid £1k deposit it was full encapsulation from Toyota.

1. Continual emails congratulating me on securing an A90
2. YouTube vids and pro driver reactions to track tested versions
3. Dealer invites from my local franchise
4. Track day at Thruxton which included a road convoy, history of Toyota lecture, director face to face convo's, track laps self driven, track laps with pro drivers, lunch, stop over etc.... it goes on
5. Certificate through the post confirming exact vehicle
6. Framed images for wall mounting
7. 200 page hard back history of Supra book (Valued at £100)
8. Personalised key fobs

Lotus.... you get the point here.

I moved from a Porsche Cayman S to Supra and it was the best vehicle decision ever furthermore backed up by cracking customer encapsulation and involvement from the offset. I am now on the Jarama Race Track edition of the Supra, as per avatar, as my A90 was poached during the summer by an eager buyer.

The very least we need is a similar feel good factor to be given to us not what we have currently been dealt with which is actually disappointment not excitement.

Exactly! Even without the SWAG, just regular communication and message clarity would be fantastic. Let’s go lotus!

 

[Leonard]

It seems there is plenty of discontent about the way Lotus are treating the early Emira adopters. Hopefully Lotus get to read this.

I purchased the first Toyota Supra A90 (1 of 24 UK cars) via a similar process ie. pay a deposit early and wait. There was a timed email release to all interested deposit payers in order to secure an A90 rather than the Pro edition that was coming out at the same time (Sep 2019).

From the moment I paid £1k deposit it was full encapsulation from Toyota.

1. Continual emails congratulating me on securing an A90
2. YouTube vids and pro driver reactions to track tested versions
3. Dealer invites from my local franchise
4. Track day at Thruxton which included a road convoy, history of Toyota lecture, director face to face convo's, track laps self driven, track laps with pro drivers, lunch, stop over etc.... it goes on
5. Certificate through the post confirming exact vehicle
6. Framed images for wall mounting
7. 200 page hard back history of Supra book (Valued at £100)
8. Personalised key fobs

Lotus.... you get the point here.

I moved from a Porsche Cayman S to Supra and it was the best vehicle decision ever furthermore backed up by cracking customer encapsulation and involvement from the offset. I am now on the Jarama Race Track edition of the Supra, as per avatar, as my A90 was poached during the summer by an eager buyer.

The very least we need is a similar feel good factor to be given to us not what we have currently been dealt with which is actually disappointment not excitement.

My Toyota Online GR Yaris purchase experience was rubbish 🗑

 

[TomE]

I agree Lotus are not doing well on comms. But what you're describing is an experience for 24 purchasers. Of course that's going to be different.

I was a deposit holder for one of 200 UK Launch Edition Evoras. Trips to the factory, meet the design and production teams, see the prototypes being built, an afternoon with instructors driving Elises round the test track etc etc. It looks like there will be 4000-5000 First Editions, so that low-volume experience is hard to replicate.

Not making excuses for Lotus, they need to do better. It's something I'll be raising with one of the senior folks next week to find out what they're intending to do between now and deliveries. It frustrates me that they've made a big splash about "new Lotus" and launched a brilliant car but haven't upped their game on customer engagement or helped the dealers to do so.

 

[BigIan]

I agree Lotus are not doing well on comms. But what you're describing is an experience for 24 purchasers. Of course that's going to be different.

I was a deposit holder for one of 200 UK Launch Edition Evoras. Trips to the factory, meet the design and production teams, see the prototypes being built, an afternoon with instructors driving Elises round the test track etc etc. It looks like there will be 4000-5000 First Editions, so that low-volume experience is hard to replicate.

Not making excuses for Lotus, they need to do better. It's something I'll be raising with one of the senior folks next week to find out what they're intending to do between now and deliveries. It frustrates me that they've made a big splash about "new Lotus" and launched a brilliant car but haven't upped their game on customer engagement or helped the dealers to do so.

I perhaps didn't word things clearly.

My A90 was 1 of 24 for the UK but it was the Supra launch in general of which there were many hundreds of cars with deposits down. The launch event at Thruxton was held over 2 days, Toyota took 50 brand new Supra's for use by people who had put deposits down, the motor press, pro drivers and a whole host of YouTubers so it was a colossal marketing push and the glitz and glamour of the event was incredible.

When I purchased my Cayman S in 2018 you get an invite to the Porsche centre at Silverstone which again included a day of driving, skid testing, launch control, fast laps etc all on their own track contained within the Silverstone circuit. Brilliant even though my Cayman was not the car the Supra is.

Based on the fact that my nearest Lotus dealer is also based within the Silverstone circuit the very minimum I would expect is a similar experience to that of the Porsche one. Why base at a track and not give potential buyers the option of driving it like it is designed to be driven?

We will see what happens but I would suggest they'll be plenty wanting their deposits back now. I for one am not interested in a First Edition for £20k over the price it was marketed at and would I want to wait until 2023 until the £60k vehicle appears? Hell no, that's a long time in the motoring world, they'll be much more attractive propositions about by then I reckon.

Really hope they don't make a TVR style balls up of this new vehicle launch. It could and should be special.

 

[TomE]

Got it, that makes sense and yes they ought to be able to do something more. The cars are still undergoing certification so it'll be Feb until they have press/demo cars. Let's see if they manage to make the dealer roadshows a success and then do more things after that to build involvement. I know several people, me included, have asked them to do factory tours and presentations like the Evora pre-launch programme.

 

[Mike-engel]

Got it, that makes sense and yes they ought to be able to do something more. The cars are still undergoing certification so it'll be Feb until they have press/demo cars. Let's see if they manage to make the dealer roadshows a success and then do more things after that to build involvement. I know several people, me included, have asked them to do factory tours and presentations like the Evora pre-launch programme.

For what it’s worth, they will need to offer a solid consumer experience everywhere the car is offered for sale. Not everyone can just hop on a plane to the UK for a factory tour and a drive at the proving ground. A global brand requires a global presence. But this could certainly be viewed as opportunity and a chance to get really creative to make the purchase special no matter where the buyer resides. Or perhaps the could offer courier services for buyers to dealers for repairs/maintenance, or extend their warranty, or a host of other value added amenities for those who couldn’t get to hethel. Or maybe a “factory delivery” option like is being done for corvette. Lots of options to make the purchase feel special.

 

[TomE]

Exactly @Mike-engel - the key thing is they need to think about this!

Even without a factory in the US there are alternatives. There are strong connections with the Barber Museum and various race circuits that could be used for a customer event or special handover experience. Doesn’t require big investment or extra cost, just think what would engage with customers.

 

[VL3X]

Exactly @Mike-engel - the key thing is they need to think about this!

Even without a factory in the US there are alternatives. There are strong connections with the Barber Museum and various race circuits that could be used for a customer event or special handover experience. Doesn’t require big investment or extra cost, just think what would engage with customers.

A buddy of mine had some sort of special delivery for his BMW M4 held at Road Atlanta. Got to spend the day with professional drivers and getting some track time in while learning his new vehicle. I'd gladly pay a little extra to have a fun experience like that!

 

[Leonard]

I perhaps didn't word things clearly.

My A90 was 1 of 24 for the UK but it was the Supra launch in general of which there were many hundreds of cars with deposits down. The launch event at Thruxton was held over 2 days, Toyota took 50 brand new Supra's for use by people who had put deposits down, the motor press, pro drivers and a whole host of YouTubers so it was a colossal marketing push and the glitz and glamour of the event was incredible.

When I purchased my Cayman S in 2018 you get an invite to the Porsche centre at Silverstone which again included a day of driving, skid testing, launch control, fast laps etc all on their own track contained within the Silverstone circuit. Brilliant even though my Cayman was not the car the Supra is.

Based on the fact that my nearest Lotus dealer is also based within the Silverstone circuit the very minimum I would expect is a similar experience to that of the Porsche one. Why base at a track and not give potential buyers the option of driving it like it is designed to be driven?

We will see what happens but I would suggest they'll be plenty wanting their deposits back now. I for one am not interested in a First Edition for £20k over the price it was marketed at and would I want to wait until 2023 until the £60k vehicle appears? Hell no, that's a long time in the motoring world, they'll be much more attractive propositions about by then I reckon.

Really hope they don't make a TVR style balls up of this new vehicle launch. It could and should be special.

I agree that the experience needs to be more premium and involved. I'd hope that Lotus at least offer driving days or similar with each new purchase etc. Porsche really have that nailed to help with retention.
I dont think there will be many cars as exciting on the horizon though, not at the price point and not full ICE
They have always said the 60k car was a base i4 and would come later. Do you really want to pass over the Emira for the sake of 10-15k? The options on the First Edition are pretty impressive for the premium