USA/Canada Delivery Thread

[DaaS]

Are they offering the provenance kits for the Emira like they did for the Evora?

You need a car first

 

[IH8theMavs]

You need a car first

Yea, looking more like a McLaren Summer

 

[MPD]

When I talked to my dealer last month, she stated that nothing new from Lotus either on time or delayed. The comment was something like, while there is no news, we are planning for 45-60 day delay and if Lotus stays on schedule then a nice surprise. That would mean a Junish delivery. Not the best news but I have large non refundable deposit so I will just have to wait it out

 

[IH8theMavs]

That's a wise dealer

I’m glad my dealer didn’t ask for much. Maybe a few of the weaker depositors will get out of the way.

 

[dgrace]

I’m still betting on September, if Lotus doesn’t declare bankruptcy by then. If my FE order wasn’t locked in and non-refundable I would have bailed already.

 

[DerTheDer]

I’m still betting on September, if Lotus doesn’t declare bankruptcy by then. If my FE order wasn’t locked in and non-refundable I would have bailed already.

Same here brother.

 

[Guest142]

Lotus USA indicated last August that production would start in January. I do not see that happening. IMHO USA production will start in Spring 2023 with cars deliverying in the beginning of Summer... Could be a similar situation as the UK, where some builds are moved up and others delayed to spread it out. Time will tell... but I'm in for the long haul. For me it's worth the wait. Totally understand others don't have the patience... bail, move on, don't look back. I have come to the realization that complaining in this situation does nothing other than highlighting the Emira isn't right for you. After my test drive, my tune has changed. The Emira is what I want, period, delays and all.

This***

 

[kitkat]

Unless you foresee Geely going belly up, not going to happen.

Geely won’t let themselves go belly up. Because if a larger economic downturn were to come up for Geely — UK Lotus production would get gutted and all that’d be left is EV production in China.

 

[dgrace]

How is the Eletre selling? Because there is no way Hethel is turning a profit at 50 cars/month output. A lot hinges on whether the Eletre bombs, and I certainly haven’t heard about long waitlists for it.

 

[VL3X]

How is the Eletre selling? Because there is no way Hethel is turning a profit at 50 cars/month output. A lot hinges on whether the Eletre bombs, and I certainly haven’t heard about long waitlists for it.

Not sure how many deposits they've gotten, but I know dealer tours started. So I assume its generating some buzz (no pun intended). Honestly, all I care about is the Emira. My Emira. And if/when it'll ever arrive.

 

[kitkat]

Not sure how many deposits they've gotten, but I know dealer tours started. So I assume its generating some buzz (no pun intended). Honestly, all I care about is the Emira. My Emira. And if/when it'll ever arrive.

There isn't a chance in hell I'd consider a Lotus as a daily drive at this point -- EV or not.

 

[VL3X]

There isn't a chance in hell I'd consider a Lotus as a daily drive at this point -- EV or not.

Same. Imagine having a small issue that prevents you from driving your fancy new Lotus. So it goes to the dealer and the dealer doesn't hear back from Lotus Corp for days or weeks. Then a part needs to be ordered and that part is on back order and takes weeks or months to arrive. It finally arrives and it's the wrong part, so the waiting continues... You finally get the car fixed and back just in time for winter storage. I can only imagine how long a body repair job could take.

Seriously though.. if this is how Lotus treats excited new customers with deposits and spec orders in, I can only imagine how bad it'll be once we already sign off on delivery and they have our money. It sounds like most dealers get frustrated with Lotus themselves. Maybe it's a Lotus of US issue? It seems like they might be trying to do better, but it's seriously not enough. Maybe this is just part of owning an exotic sportscar? I kinda wish I never saw the Emira and just bought a GT4 2 years ago like I originally planned. Now I'm too committed and stubborn to bail.

 

[kitkat]

Same. Imagine having a small issue that prevents you from driving your fancy new Lotus. So it goes to the dealer and the dealer doesn't hear back from Lotus Corp for days or weeks. Then a part needs to be ordered and that part is on back order and takes weeks or months to arrive. It finally arrives and it's the wrong part, so the waiting continues... You finally get the car fixed and back just in time for winter storage. I can only imagine how long a body repair job could take.

Seriously though.. if this is how Lotus treats excited new customers with deposits and spec orders in, I can only imagine how bad it'll be once we already sign off on delivery and they have our money. It sounds like most dealers get frustrated with Lotus themselves. Maybe is a Lotus of US issue? It seems like they might be trying to do better, but it's seriously not enough. Maybe this is just part of owning an exotic sportscar? I kinda wish I never saw the Emira and just bought a GT4 2 years ago like I originally planned. Now I'm too committed and stubborn to bail.

It's fine as a 3rd car imho, but this lack of service isn't new to anyone here I hope? We all knew this getting into it.

 

[Pops68]

I think here it's a $50 ticket if you don't have it on. So the risk is very much worth keeping the car looking good.

Unless you're in the big cities they don't worry much about it here in So. Calif. I never ran one on my Corvette because it would have covered 30% of the air intake...and it ruined the look of the front imo!

 

[dgrace]

Not sure where you got the 50 cars number… when Harry did his tour in October 10th they were doing 3 cars a day with a target of 8… So 90 cars with a 240 target on a single shift. Production just kicked off in September (just over 3 months ago), so I’m sure it has improved since. Now they are on two shifts. Also, keep in mind they were building all the dealer demos for the UK and Europe.
I love how people just throw numbers out based off guessing.

The line is only running 4 days/wk, so 16-18 days/mo x 3 cars a day. But even at double or triple that speed, there’s no way the Emira turns a profit. Sooner or later it really matters.

 

[TomE]

Lotus work a 4 day x 10 hour production shift pattern. Friday is for maintenance and training. Most production staff (and a lot of non-production staff) finish work at noon on Fridays. The old joke is that means they never build a "Friday afternoon car" (implying one of lower quality).

 

[dgrace]

Regardless, the Emira is a gap car... until EVs are in full swing.

Right but what happens if the EVs just don’t sell? I don’t know anyone with an Eletre deposit. How many are out there?

 

[Nova]

With so much invested, there is no way they can make enough money to recover that money spent building only 3 cars a shift. That's only 600 cars per year per shift. Even with 3 shifts, that's still only 1800 cars. They can't even keep the stations staffed at that glacial pace. I guess you could have the people moving along to different stations together with the chassis, but then what's the difference between that and the old hand-build approach other than the integration of an expensive production line.

 

[Carbuilder]

With so much invested, there is no way they can make enough money to recover that money spent building only 3 cars a shift. That's only 600 cars per year per shift. Even with 3 shifts, that's still only 1800 cars.

So with the planned 2 shifts, does that mean over 6 months just to make the FE cars for North America? And that assumes the full production is just for the NA cars. So the non-FE cars showing up in 2023 seems pretty much impossible.

 

[Carbuilder]

Whine and complain, and do nothing about it?

And your suggestion to do something about it would be?