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If Geely is willing to keep propping up Lotus Tech until the TYP 134 (Macan competitor) arrives then the company might be sustainable. The 134 should sell reasonably well, esp in China. The smart strategy would be to also launch a hybrid version.

The real problem is that the Chinese EV tariffs have destroyed Lotus' business case in the US. At the tariff pricepoint they're going to sell f-all Eletres and Emeyas in America. That means the entire US franchise system has to be supported by ~1,500 Emira sales per year. Good luck with that.

Lotus delivered 7,543 vehicles in the first nine months of 2024. Yes, that's a big increase versus last year, but the quarterly deliveries aren't really "ramping up" in 2024. IMO, growth seems to have stalled. Lotus only delivered 2,670 vehicles in Q3, so I really can't see them achieving...

My parents live in Singleton, not far from you. For those West Sussex roads I'd go for the V6 manual every day and twice on Sundays. Unless you're going to spend lots of time on busy motorways or in London traffic then surely the clutch and knee won't be a big drama. Chichester can get a...

Totally agree, but there's no way it will ever happen because it would destroy Lotus financially. There would be over 2,000 pre-June 2023 cars they'd have to recall. Presumably to do it properly they'd need to remove, replace, paint and reinstall every Teijin panel on those cars . . ...

Looks like it. I haven't heard of blistering on the front panels or the hood/bonnet. Suggests there is a manufacturing/storage/handling issue at Teijin rather than a problem with the way Lotus paints them. Also raises doubts about whether a repaint actually solves the underlying problem.

Totally agree. I've found that modern 911s are pretty boring at legal speeds, particularly if they're PDK. Driving the Emira is always an occasion.

The panels are manufactured and coated with conductive primer in Portugal by Teijin Automotive Technologies, a Japanese company. The SMC raw material (sheet molded compound) is made in Teijin's factory in France before being shipped to Portugal. Teijin is providing the doors, rear quarter...

Has anyone with blisters had an "official" explanation from Lotus about the root cause of this problem? There are lots of strongly held views on this forum and the dealers give their own (often incorrect) opinions. But what is Lotus saying is the root cause? For example: 1. Moisture...

Everyone keeps saying this . . . except Lotus.

Every Emira has those small patches. It's like the way Porsche puts PPF on the wheel arches of a 911.

Exactly. Or put differently, only the SE will be available in the United States.

Love your confidence. My Emira has been stalling on cold start every time for the past two weeks. A few days ago (at the advice of a fellow owner) I pumped in a lower octane fuel than normal. The problem has gone. I don't think it's just a coincidence.

I genuinely believe the Emira is one of this era's most beautiful cars. I've had mine for almost 1.5 years and still look back every time I leave it in the garage or a car park. I often can't resist taking a photo too!

That looks terrible. Raises serious questions about their quality control processes. I'd find it hard to trust a shop after they released that work to a customer.

I think it was more of a marketing decision than driven by cost to Lotus. When I visited the factory they commented on how complex Nimbus is to formulate, so I would expect it to be the most expensive if the tiers were based on true cost.

Nothing official yet, but if you were a betting man you'd say that at some point there will be a remapped version of the AMG called the Emira S.

Love how they picked the two most popular FE paints, Magma and Seneca, called them Exclusive and charged a price premium! Now that's marketing.

It's just a concept car. It's intended to give clues about the future direction Lotus design might take and to show off emerging tech that might (possibly) make it into a production car. It's also about branding, trying to position Lotus as cutting edge. Lotus Technology has been transparent...

I agree with some of your points, but this statement is wrong. Emira has been more successful than Lotus ever dreamed. They were taken completely by surprise by the level of demand it generated. Remember, Lotus only sold just over 6,000 Evoras across 14 variants and 11 years of production...

During the Lotus Technology 1H investor call they were pretty open in saying that Emira prices are going up.

This is not a production car. It's an ambitious concept car intended to show that Lotus is pushing its thinking about the future. We know that the next Lotus sports car will be the TYP 135, and I'm betting it has almost nothing in common with this.

I'm baffled by their claim that the design language was inspired by the Esprit. I don't see any Esprit there (other than the after-thought wing tacked on the back)

Peter Horbury died unexpectedly last year while visiting Lotus in China and the corporate types promoted Ben Payne to replace him. Ben headed the Lotus Technology design team (and before that Geely design) so the EV guys are now running the show. Russell now reports to Ben Payne and his Hethel...

Won't be TYP 135. Lotus just told investors that it would be delayed by at least a year. The 1H presentation now says TYP 135 (New Model 2) won't launch until 2026 with deliveries in 2027.

Teijin Automotive makes them in Pouancé, France. Teijin is a Japanese chemical company.

Don't think this is true. Geely injected another US$110M into Lotus just three months ago. Sadly this massive cash injection will probably be wasted building fat expensive EVs that no one wants.

Bugger. Sorry you have to go through this hassle, plus bad news for all Emira owners. Lotus have still not gotten to the root cause of this issue. It's extraordinary; this has been a problem for the brand going all the way back to cars like the Europa, but they still haven't fixed it.

It's improbable that Lotus Cars, the Hethel-based sportscar maker, will disappear. The Emira has sold far better than they dreamed and Geely has pumped hundreds of millions into building the brand, modernising the factory and the new design center in Coventry. If Lotus Technology (which...

It's eye-opening to listen to the investor call and hear the senior management team answering questions in Mandarin with a translator! Drives home the reality that Lotus Technology (not Lotus Cars) is genuinely a Chinese company and the link to the old Hethel business is pretty tenuous, not...

Yes, I can't see Lotus Cars (the Hethel-based company) disappearing. Remember, they're not even legally part of Lotus Technology yet. Lotus Tech has an exclusive license to sell their products and an option to acquire them.

https://ir.group-lotus.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lotus-technology-reports-unaudited-second-quarter-and-first-half Lotus is trying to put a positive spin on the results, but they're ugly. -- Total 1H deliveries of 4,873 units -- Lifestyle/SUV were 2,389 and sports cars were 2,484...

You have the patience of a saint.

My list of blunders is long and distinguished. For example: -- Passing on very low mileage 993 Turbo at about 25% of the current market price -- Giving up a Land Rover Defender 90 Heritage Edition build slot

Quite possible that the Base Edition will be a rarer car than the First Edition!

A better take on the situation would be: Lotus may delay the TYP 135 because it has finally worked out that they pulled the trigger on the shift to 100% BEV vehicles at least five (and possibly ten) years too early.

If it's a manufacturing fault, Teijin Automotive will be hit with a massive warranty claim from Lotus. After all, they were selected because they claimed to have a superior formulation that prevented this very issue!