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Teijin supplies the doors, rear quarters and tailgate panels. This press release when they won the contract hasn't aged well: This treatment technology results in a more robust resin mix making molded parts more resistant to handling damage, preventing micro-cracks that cause paint pops, pits...

True, but you just described every modern vehicle. These days cars are mostly assembled using sub-contracted components, not manufactured in the traditional sense. Bosch makes the brakes, Bilstein the suspension, ZF the transmission, BBS the wheels, Recaro the seats, and so on.

What really pisses me off is that this has been going on for 3+ years and Lotus and has been totally silent on the issue. Crickets. They haven't acknowledged there is a serious problem, they haven't issued any public statement on the root causes, and they haven't come up with a solution for...

No, I don't think this is correct. Off-gassing is when recently manufactured fibre glass or newly applied car paint releases volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The Emira paint blisters are caused by moisture infiltrating the composite material of the body panels, particularly the doors. At...

Two?

It's a technical service bulletin (TSB) not a formal recall. Your dealer should install the membrane at the next service if the car didn't get one at the factory. Mine was done back in June.

During the latest earnings call, Lotus Technology said that during Q4 they would actively clear out their stock of vehicles, including via discounting to wholesalers, so that they can be "clean" and have no discounting in 2025 when they launch the TYP 134. This overhang of vehicles is mostly...

It's your choice of course, but in addition to the risk of an argument over warranty, for the sake of a couple of hundred bucks you risk missing out on software upgrades, recall work, etc. Every time I've taken my Emira to the dealer there has been some additional work like a recall.

Phew. I don't wash my car once a week. :D

Yes, totally agree. They're not only the world's longest serving Lotus dealer but also widely viewed as one of the best car dealers in the UK. To have your oldest dealer hand back their franchise in disgust is an absolutely damning indictment of Lotus. I do sometimes wonder how Matt Windle...

Just confirms once again that dealers are the single least reliable source of information on cars :D

This is largely about increasing the average profit per Emira sold. Lotus has admitted that their profit margin on Emira is low, so they plan to boost this via more customisation and limited runs. I suspect the price to get your hands on one of the 12 cars in each colour will make people weep.

I'd love to know which Federal law prohibits a dealer from patching a Z-rated tyre! However, you have three punctures and a gash, which seems to exceed Michelin's policy on patching tyres: Tire Manufacturer's Puncture Repair Recommendations Manufacturer/Brand Speed Rating Multiple Repair...

On the earnings call, Lotus said they are running a "destocking program" to get rid of inventory so they don't have discounted cars in the market when they launch the TYP 134 next year. I suspect that program involves selling blocks of cars to specialist dealers at very attractive wholesale prices.

Ouch sounds like you got a real lemon. It seems to be incredibly variable-- I've had my Emira for about 18 months and never had an issue (touch fiberglass). There seem to be some Emiras with tons of problems and others with no faults at all.

It's customary, but I don't think there's any requirement under the Companies Act. In private companies I've certainly come across shareholders who don't want the MD to be on the board or MDs who don't want to take on the perceived legal risk of being a director.

This is out of date. Geely owns 51% and effectively controls the business. Lotus Cars has a complex ownership structure given its messy history . . . Lotus Cars Limited (the operating company) is 100% owned by Group Lotus Limited, a UK holding company that also owns the Lotus trademark...

Quite possible. On the earnings call Lotus mentioned that they are currently discounting to clear inventory in Europe so they are "clean" for the launch of the TYP 134 next year. They don't want to be discounting new vehicles next year when they're launching a major product.

A few observations from the earnings call: 1. They have a vehicle inventory problem in Europe (not China) and are taking a hit on margins in Q3/Q4 in order to clear this stock and be ready for the launch of the new TYP 134. They don't want to have old stock in the market at discounts when...

I think that's a USA only sticker

I've wondered about this too. I'm betting they've sold less than five of them to real customers!

This makes a lot of sense to me. It seems that Lotus has worked out that they went too early on pure EV! Maybe they'll put a hybrid engine in the TYP 134 Macan competitor and possibly in the TYP 135 as well? Below is the transcript of the conversation between Wall Street Journal and Lotus...

You're right, falafel91 mistakenly described the blister as being "on the trunk lid" but looking more closely it's on the rear panel. The rear panel/bumper is not made by Teijin.

It's the same supplier, though not a common area for issues compared to doors and rear quarter panels. Teijin is providing the doors, rear quarter panels, and the inner, outer and lower shells of the tailgate.

Can't see why ceramic coating would cause a bubble like that?

I wouldn't be surprised if Russell Carr leaves Lotus sometime soon. His design team at Hethel has been folded into Ben Payne's Coventry design group and it's clear that the TYP 135 (if it ever gets built) will be heavily influenced by Ben's Theory 1 concept car.

Isn't that exactly their current situation? While Lotus Technology has listed on the NASDAQ, Geely is still effectively in control. Geely is providing the loans and they share Geely components from Volvo, Lynk, etc. Also, I believe Geely actually own the China factory and are operating it on...

Lotus has been operating as two separate businesses: Lotus Cars in Hethel and Lotus Technology in China/Germany/Coventry. Lotus Technology doesn't even own Lotus Cars (they have an option to acquire it). Eletre and Emeya were conceived and designed by Lotus Technology with very little input...

After the IPO Etika was down to something like 28%. Since then, Geely has funded a bunch of convertible notes so Etika's fully diluted shareholding is probably less than 20%.

Sports cars are a tough game. Look at Aston Martin, they've been turning out great cars lately but are losing $1.8M a day. Lotus can't survive on just the Emira. In fact, the profit margins on Emira are lousy so they certainly aren't making enough money to ever develop and launch a new car...

Sorry to be negative but I fear Lotus is in serious trouble. Is Geely really going to keep pumping in $100M a year to prop them up? They went 100% EV at least five years too early and aimed too far upmarket with Eletre/Emeya. Globally, the luxury car market is in a slump. And the new EV...

I loved Verdant Green, but after seeing the swirls and micro scratches on an Emira at the dealer, I decided that it would be too hard to keep looking good and my OCD would drive me mad. Suspect PPF is your best option. I'd make sure it gets a good stage 1 polish before wrapping.

2,500 km round trip drive from Sydney to Brisbane. Emira was awesome and problem-free.

I wondered about this too. If the root cause is inadequate sealing on the unpainted side of the panels, then I suppose in theory you could remove them, spray the back with some kind of waterproofing, and reattach. It wouldn't be a cheap job.

Left which board? As CEO of Geely Holdings he is on many boards, for example: Lotus, Volvo, Aston Martin.

Problem solved: