Recent content by Nick in Sydney

Based on Lotus's current financial losses, the Emira still might be the last ICE Lotus ever! :D

Tesla makes great EVs, but beyond that the US auto industry just isn't globally competitive. If you put aside niche models like the Mustang or Corvette, Europeans stopped buying US cars decades ago. Ford now has only a 3.3% market share in Europe. Sure, the Chinese copy other brand's design...

This. We know there have been multiple waves of employee lay-offs. My guess is that head office has told them to cut every cost to the bone because the business is in serious financial trouble.

Almost certainly, IMO. The CEO recently said that they were conscious that the Lifestyle cars were "off brand" for Lotus and that they needed a new car to reinforce the sports car and racing heritage.

Maybe the V8 will be part of the 2027 Emira facelift, with the first V8 cars delivered in early 2028?

Lots of big news hidden in this updated product pipeline! 1. TYP 135, the EV Emira replacement, is gone. Instead they're going to keep Emira alive for far longer than originally planned. 2. The 2027 Emira facelift, which will be an upgrade to the power of the AMG unit. Perhaps the R model...

First quarter deliveries of only 1,282 vehicles is a train-wreck for Lotus. They delivered over 4,000 in Q4 last year. It's a yearly run rate of just 5,128 vehicles from a company that planned to be selling 100,00+ by now. US car tarrifs didn't come into effect until the end of the quarter...

I'd keep a very close eye on your doors. Teijin Automotive made the doors, the rear quarters and the clamshell. You've already got blistering on 2 out of 3, so clearly there's an issue with the batch of composite panels used in your car.

I noticed that the Top Gear cars were #22 and #23. So they've built at least 23 Evijas . . . though how many are customer cars is unknown. We also know that the eight Fittipaldi edition Evijas sold out (or at least that they took deposits on all of them!). Personally, I'd stretch another...

PPF won't prevent blistering because the moisture isn't entering the composite panels from the painted side. There are two scenarios: 1. Water molecules are trapped inside the composite panels during manufacturing or storage. 2. Water molecules enter the composite panels because the...

This story isn't really the big news it seems. The plan was always that Lotus Technology would eventually take full ownership of Lotus Cars. This was noted in the original Lotus Technology investor presentations. They are tidying up a very messy corporate structure that investors find hard to...

I think he was referring to the 25% tariff on USA car imports, not UK. Europe charges a ~30% tariff on Geely EVs, which I assume also applies to Lotus EVs coming from China (10% standard car tariff + 19% Geely EV tariff).

To be fair, Lotus has been staggeringly unlucky since the Emira launch: COVID pandemic, Ukraine war, US and European tariffs on Chinese EVs, and now the tariff war. They just can't catch a break. Unfortunately they compounded this bad luck with a couple of major strategic blunders and...

I agree. I'm afraid they're in real trouble and totally reliant on Li Shufu's willingness to keep funding their massive losses so his automotive empire can include a prestige sportscar brand with racing heritage.