U.S. Update: Allocation & Order Date

[Daz]

It does seem that the picture is beginning to take shape regarding US FE allocations and ordering. For what it's worth, I too just spoke with my sales guy Daniel at Lotus Charlotte and received the following, which seems consistent with what others here have shared.

• Their FE allocation was 14 cars total. 13 are customer cars and one is a demo.
• They will submit their FE orders in batches of 4 per month, beginning in March, finishing in June.
• Each batch will have about a 6-month build time and 2-month delivery time, e.g. March order, September build complete, November delivery to dealer/customer.
• They expect to receive their next allocation of Base (non FE) models around June and will then resume going down the deposit list.
• Pricing on Base model and options is expected in Spring (within the next few months)

I didn't make the FE cut (barring quite a few FE drop-outs), but Daniel expects to contact me in a few months to go over the updated Base options, pricing and then again sometime in August to place the order for my Base model configuration. Given the 8-month lead time that gets me behind the wheel sometime in the Spring of '23. This is pretty much what I expected and what he had initially estimated when I placed my deposit, so I have nothing to complain about.

I have been very pleased with the straightforward, no-BS approach and communication from Lotus Charlotte. I guess I have another year of so to add to my piggy bank and to live vicariously through all you lucky folks who will be zipping around in your shiny Emiras this Summer/Fall.

Good write up and I have to admire your attitude towards this. It must be infuriating to be in the USA and wanting an Emira and the way the dealers are handling the situation, your dealer seems to be one of the better ones ( at least he’s telling you straight on what’s happening) . Stay patient and strong and it won’t be long until you’re racing around those leafy lanes of new hants

 

[Nova]

Well, it looks like I will be configuring my own V6 instead of getting an FE. It may also be interesting to see what the I4 FE looks like if by magic it arrives with 400HP like the Chinese version instead of 360. Hopefully, there will be more color choices and configuration options as consolation?

 

[DaaS]

@GatorMotorsport - Appreciate the info. Do you know if the 700 V6 FE for North America going to be model year 2022 or 2023?

 

[GatorMotorsport]

@GatorMotorsport - Appreciate the info. Do you know if the 700 V6 FE for North America going to be model year 2022 or 2023?

2023! This change occurred a few months back.

 

[PaulP]

Guys, instead of worrying, freaking out, getting upset with things completely out of your control, probably best for your well being, is to just chill and let Lotus get busy manufacturing the Emira.
Maybe they will surprise all of us with a second shift and get us our cars early.
All this complaining and redrick is pointless.

Sorry but it’s not pointless for those of us who need a car. This isn’t a weekend fun car purchase it’s a daily driver for me and I’ve got a car that needs replaced. It’s absurd that I can’t get a reasonable expectation of when my car might be delivered and that the time I was told has now been basically blown up from FE sometime summer 2022 to who knows when and probably late 2023. I’m a 95% drop out at this point unless I hear something soon as everything else has a lagtime and I’m not sitting around waiting further as communication is basically nonexistent.

 

[Nova]

Sorry but it’s not pointless for those of us who need a car. This isn’t a weekend fun car purchase it’s a daily driver for me and I’ve got a car that needs replaced. It’s absurd that I can’t get a reasonable expectation of when my car might be delivered and that the time I was told has now been basically blown up from FE sometime summer 2022 to who knows when and probably late 2023. I’m a 95% drop out at this point unless I hear something soon as everything else has a lagtime and I’m not sitting around waiting further as communication is basically nonexistent.

I share your frustration. I sold my daily driver in May of 2021 and have been sharing a car with my wife. This is one of the reasons why I was able to obtain swift spousal approval for the Lotus when I saw it for the first time in September. If I won't get a car until late 2023, she's going to force me to buy something else.

 

[darkling]

Have we heard any production numbers for the i4 fe yet ? And is it true pricing for fei4 and base will drop in march?

 

[TXEMIRA]

2023! This change occurred a few months back.

There goes my 22 EMIRA plate…

 

[TXEMIRA]

It does seem that the picture is beginning to take shape regarding US FE allocations and ordering. For what it's worth, I too just spoke with my sales guy Daniel at Lotus Charlotte and received the following, which seems consistent with what others here have shared.

• Their FE allocation was 14 cars total. 13 are customer cars and one is a demo.
• They will submit their FE orders in batches of 4 per month, beginning in March, finishing in June.
• Each batch will have about a 6-month build time and 2-month delivery time, e.g. March order, September build complete, November delivery to dealer/customer.
• They expect to receive their next allocation of Base (non FE) models around June and will then resume going down the deposit list.
• Pricing on Base model and options is expected in Spring (within the next few months)

I didn't make the FE cut (barring quite a few FE drop-outs), but Daniel expects to contact me in a few months to go over the updated Base options, pricing and then again sometime in August to place the order for my Base model configuration. Given the 8-month lead time that gets me behind the wheel sometime in the Spring of '23. This is pretty much what I expected and what he had initially estimated when I placed my deposit, so I have nothing to complain about.

I have been very pleased with the straightforward, no-BS approach and communication from Lotus Charlotte. I guess I have another year of so to add to my piggy bank and to live vicariously through all you lucky folks who will be zipping around in your shiny Emiras this Summer/Fall.

This seems to be V6 talk only. Yes?

Could you also land in an i4 FE spot?

 

[p.rob]

Sorry but it’s not pointless for those of us who need a car. This isn’t a weekend fun car purchase it’s a daily driver for me and I’ve got a car that needs replaced. It’s absurd that I can’t get a reasonable expectation of when my car might be delivered and that the time I was told has now been basically blown up from FE sometime summer 2022 to who knows when and probably late 2023. I’m a 95% drop out at this point unless I hear something soon as everything else has a lagtime and I’m not sitting around waiting further as communication is basically nonexistent.

go buy a corolla instead. What is absurd is buying a car on a waiting list on the promise of getting it a year later and making plans accordingly. Especially in the current context where every constructor has delays in their deliveries, even them giants of this world, let alone a small constructor like lotus.

you only got yourself to blame for your bad choices if you ask me.

 

[GatorMotorsport]

There goes my 22 EMIRA plate…

We won't tell anyone if you don't

 

[~el~jefe~]

Sorry but it’s not pointless for those of us who need a car. This isn’t a weekend fun car purchase it’s a daily driver for me and I’ve got a car that needs replaced. It’s absurd that I can’t get a reasonable expectation of when my car might be delivered and that the time I was told has now been basically blown up from FE sometime summer 2022 to who knows when and probably late 2023. I’m a 95% drop out at this point unless I hear something soon as everything else has a lagtime and I’m not sitting around waiting further as communication is basically nonexistent.

What is worse is that the Allocation thing will be extending after the FE's. Will the 80 people at my dealer with deposits get them all in 2023? or a lot less? if not all, this is stupid.

 

[PaulP]

go buy a corolla instead. What is absurd is buying a car on a waiting list on the promise of getting it a year later and making plans accordingly. Especially in the current context where every constructor has delays in their deliveries, even them giants of this world, let alone a small constructor like lotus.

you only got yourself to blame for your bad choices if you ask me.

You’re probably right. Shouldn’t have taken a gamble on this company and what I was told. All along it’s been stated multiple times that supply chain delays were not affecting lotus for this rollout so I guess I had beer goggles on. I’m in the process of remedying that today.

I understand a lot of you this is a plaything, but there -are- those of us out here who like to drive a nice car as our primary but that’s all we have space or money for. Snide comments like “get a corolla” aren’t really helpful for expanding a niche brand, FWIW.

 

[EspritGuy]

There goes my 22 EMIRA plate…

Can you pencil it in?

 

[scarzie]

You’re probably right. Shouldn’t have taken a gamble on this company and what I was told. All along it’s been stated multiple times that supply chain delays were not affecting lotus for this rollout so I guess I had beer goggles on. I’m in the process of remedying that today.

I understand a lot of you this is a plaything, but there -are- those of us out here who like to drive a nice car as our primary but that’s all we have space or money for. Snide comments like “get a corolla” aren’t really helpful for expanding a niche brand, FWIW.

Do you know what # in line you were?

 

[Maverick1]

go buy a corolla instead. What is absurd is buying a car on a waiting list on the promise of getting it a year later and making plans accordingly. Especially in the current context where every constructor has delays in their deliveries, even them giants of this world, let alone a small constructor like lotus.

you only got yourself to blame for your bad choices if you ask me.

You beat me to it my friend, I was going to suggest to him go buy yourself a Honda Civic beater car until your Emira comes in, not a big deal.
Remember gentlemen "STRESS" kills.
Chill out, getting upset, frustrated about things out of your control is silly, pointless and unhealthy, especially regarding buying a high-end sports car, which should really be an enjoyable process mates.
I am just hoping Ontario Canada gets a V6 demo car so I can see and experience the Emira in the flesh.
However I'm not losing sleep over it.
Chill gentlemen.

 

[p.rob]

You’re probably right. Shouldn’t have taken a gamble on this company and what I was told. All along it’s been stated multiple times that supply chain delays were not affecting lotus for this rollout so I guess I had beer goggles on. I’m in the process of remedying that today.

I understand a lot of you this is a plaything, but there -are- those of us out here who like to drive a nice car as our primary but that’s all we have space or money for. Snide comments like “get a corolla” aren’t really helpful for expanding a niche brand, FWIW.

I totally get that. My comment might had came out wrong. What I really meant is "get a corolla, it's cheap to run and does not depreciate that much, so you'll be able to wait for your Emira and not be stressed out"

I actually bought a 2007 toyota matrix since work from home has now become the norm. Emira and GT4 in the garage, 2007 Matrix sitting in the driveway haha

 

[Guest142]

Lotus announced 1,500 V6 FE's world-wide and 500 headed to North America at launch. After the overwhelming reception they increased the total numbers to a little over 2,000 world-wide. 700 of these cars are headed to North America. This information was only provided to dealers and depending on your dealer they may or may not overshare. For the most part it doesn't impact things on the whole; it's an increase of about 4-cars per dealer and each dealer is keeping a demo car anyway.

Also big thank you to @GatorMotorsport for coming here and nipping a lot of the misinformation in the bud.

Hopefully this reduces speculation and puts things in perspective.

Very well said. Thank you for adding this level of thoughtfulness and sincerity to the conversation. I greatly appreciate your input. It's highly valued.

 

[Guest142]

It does seem that the picture is beginning to take shape regarding US FE allocations and ordering. For what it's worth, I too just spoke with my sales guy Daniel at Lotus Charlotte and received the following, which seems consistent with what others here have shared.

• Their FE allocation was 14 cars total. 13 are customer cars and one is a demo.
• They will submit their FE orders in batches of 4 per month, beginning in March, finishing in June.
• Each batch will have about a 6-month build time and 2-month delivery time, e.g. March order, September build complete, November delivery to dealer/customer.
• They expect to receive their next allocation of Base (non FE) models around June and will then resume going down the deposit list.
• Pricing on Base model and options is expected in Spring (within the next few months)

I didn't make the FE cut (barring quite a few FE drop-outs), but Daniel expects to contact me in a few months to go over the updated Base options, pricing and then again sometime in August to place the order for my Base model configuration. Given the 8-month lead time that gets me behind the wheel sometime in the Spring of '23. This is pretty much what I expected and what he had initially estimated when I placed my deposit, so I have nothing to complain about.

I have been very pleased with the straightforward, no-BS approach and communication from Lotus Charlotte. I guess I have another year of so to add to my piggy bank and to live vicariously through all you lucky folks who will be zipping around in your shiny Emiras this Summer/Fall.

Great post. It speaks to the kind of person you are. I completely agree, this process has been totally straightforward.

 

[Magma]

What is worse is that the Allocation thing will be extending after the FE's. Will the 80 people at my dealer with deposits get them all in 2023? or a lot less? if not all, this is stupid.

Yes the people who had their deposits down for an FE and didn't make the cut, have transitioned to first right of refusal for the base edition.
No dealer knows how many base editions they will get yet. Nobody even knows the pricing. Some people may be waiting a very long time for this car.