Will the Emira allocation really cross the pond ?

[Ryder]

Lotus/Greely know their market and NA has never been a Lotus hotbed. Did they really forget the need for the certification process ( safety and emission testing ) ?
Could the process be more difficult than expected ? Will they jump through hoops to deliver the 700 plus cars promised ?
Why no updates from Lotus ??

 

[GetawayDriving]

Lotus/Greely know their market and NA has never been a Lotus hotbed. Did they really forget the need for the certification process ( safety and emission testing ) ?
Could the process be more difficult than expected ? Will they jump through hoops to deliver the 700 plus cars promised ?
Why no updates from Lotus ??

I don't know what happened with the certification but I find it hard to believe Lotus "forgot". I think the maximum folly scenario is that they were caught off guard by how backed-up the queue was. More likely I think would be needing to make a change to the cars which held off certification. Just speculation on my part.

They're not going to walk away. 700 cars might be small potatoes, and the US might not be a Lotus hotbed in the past with their niche sports car offerings, but Geely has EV lifestyle vehicles to sell and the US is the 2nd largest auto market in the world.

 

[scarzie]

Lotus/Greely know their market and NA has never been a Lotus hotbed. Did they really forget the need for the certification process ( safety and emission testing ) ?
Could the process be more difficult than expected ? Will they jump through hoops to deliver the 700 plus cars promised ?
Why no updates from Lotus ??

Wasn't the US the #1 market for the evora?

 

[dgrace]

I don't remember where I heard it, but I had thought the explanation was that Lotus thought that certification from the Evora GT would carry over as the powertrain was identical, and were caught out when EPA demanded a completely new application. Either way this should have been addressed back in 2021.

 

[Toomanyloti]

my invoice is number 617. Seems logical it refers to the number of cars built??? Might help gauge your wait????

 

[TomE]

Lotus has been caught out by the certification process in many jurisdictions, not just the US. Europe, UK, Japan, China, Australia to name just a few.

It appears in many cases the time to get through the certification has extended significantly post COVID, so not entirely down to Lotus and has impacted other manufacturers.

I also think Lotus had to make changes to nearly final cars that meant having to re-apply for certification. This is just a hunch, but based on seeing things like late changes to the official emissions figures.

 

[Ryder]

Lotus has been caught out by the certification process in many jurisdictions, not just the US. Europe, UK, Japan, China, Australia to name just a few.

It appears in many cases the time to get through the certification has extended significantly post COVID, so not entirely down to Lotus and has impacted other manufacturers.

I also think Lotus had to make changes to nearly final cars that meant having to re-apply for certification. This is just a hunch, but based on seeing things like late changes to the official emissions figures.

Tom, thanks for your take. Fingers are crossed for 12/2023 arrival.

 

[Hell4Leather]

Tom, thanks for your take. Fingers are crossed for 12/2023 arrival.

Also considering that that 60% of Hethel is dedicated to China spec cars the N/A market is NOT a priority. Doesn’t look like they really give a rip. The Chinese factory is building Chinese cars, the Hethel factory is building Chinese cars - N/A certification and deliveries will happen as “soon” as they feel like.

 

[TomE]

The Chinese factory is building UK and EU Eletres as well as cars for Asia. The delay with US certification is as much to do with the US certification agency as it is with Lotus.

In the overall Geely strategy for Lotus, the US isn't the top priority and nor is the UK or Europe. This is the headline news today from Lotus:

Lotus relaunches in South Korea and reveals new expansion plans in Asia-Pacific region - Lotus Cars Media Site

media.lotuscars.com

 

[Ryder]

The Chinese factory is building UK and EU Eletres as well as cars for Asia. The delay with US certification is as much to do with the US certification agency as it is with Lotus.

In the overall Geely strategy for Lotus, the US isn't the top priority and nor is the UK or Europe. This is the headline news today from Lotus:

Lotus relaunches in South Korea and reveals new expansion plans in Asia-Pacific region - Lotus Cars Media Site

media.lotuscars.com

That article really tells the story. The NA market has no priority with Lotus/Greely.

 

[Hell4Leather]

That article really tells the story. The NA market has no priority with Lotus/Greely.

“The first Lotus cars will arrive in Q1 2024 and Q3 2024 for Emira and Eletre customers respectively” - pretty much tells you what you need to know. North America, back of the line. I’m wondering if we’ll actually get cars. Perhaps Lotus should suspend accepting new orders from North America until we get this sorted out. Dollars to donuts they haven’t even submitted for certification yet as they need to make cars for S Korea to make deliveries by Q1.