Base and First Edition specs and configuration options coming through...

[JPS_67]

I think the amount of people worldwide who made a deposit is overwhelming for Lotus. They are (at full speed, with a fully tuned production line) capable of 4800 cars per year. So at most expect a 3600 per year. In 2022 they wont be at full speed, so no more than 2000 cars to expect for one production line.

I think they have a lot of Toyota engines in the warehouse, so best to sell those first. Good idea to put them on the FE first.
As it is a global release the Emira has clearance all over the world. Especially the USA has special restrictions (CA) which held the Lotus cars unavailable for this market. The 6 cylinder engine will be very appreciated by this market. As for Europe the regulations on CO2 emisions are getting more tense so an engine which is tuned on that aspect is supposed to be very much liked. The AMG 4 cylinder engine will be tuned to adhere to this CO2 regulations and will thus be downtuned to 360 bhp.

Somewhere I picked up that for submissions in UK alone they could sell 8000 cars. I suspect Lotus is looking into setting up two production lines. One for Toyota 6 cylinder engine to start with and then setting up a AMG 4 cylinder production line.

And as for the poor communications I honestly think this overwhelming amount of submissions flabbergasted them totally and they are hurrying to get all things done and aligned as good as they can.

Just my thoughts.

 

[TomE]

You're close but let me add my thoughts. Target production is 5000 cars per year at eventual productivity levels on a single shift per day. Target for 2022 is 3000 customer cars, taking account of first deliveries starting in April and having some ramp up time. Press and demo cars will be built before then.

There is no stockpile of Toyota engines or quota to use up. Toyota build them when Lotus order them and will continue to do that until it is no longer emissions-compliant in 2025/26. They're launching the V6 first because they already know the engine so can get it to market quicker. As soon as the i4 is ready they will start building those alongside the V6 in the same production facility. They don't need to run two lines, they can mix whatever proportion of V6 to i4 they want.

They can add a second shift, which would double capacity (once up to full productivity) without having to add extra production facilities - it's literally a second shift of people using the same factory. As with one shift, the V6/i4 mix can vary as required - day by day or week to week if necessary. I know they're looking at doing this but I suspect they won't commit to it until they have more info from reaction to pricing and on deposits converting to orders.

I'm a Lotus flag-waver and would give them the benefit of the doubt, but I think you're being generous on the comms. It's been poor and has included some basic errors and omissions. I really hope they can step it up.

 

[JPS_67]

You're close but let me add my thoughts. Target production is 5000 cars per year at eventual productivity levels on a single shift per day. Target for 2022 is 3000 customer cars, taking account of first deliveries starting in April and having some ramp up time. Press and demo cars will be built before then.

There is no stockpile of Toyota engines or quota to use up. Toyota build them when Lotus order them and will continue to do that until it is no longer emissions-compliant in 2025/26. They're launching the V6 first because they already know the engine so can get it to market quicker. As soon as the i4 is ready they will start building those alongside the V6 in the same production facility. They don't need to run two lines, they can mix whatever proportion of V6 to i4 they want.

They can add a second shift, which would double capacity (once up to full productivity) without having to add extra production facilities - it's literally a second shift of people using the same factory. As with one shift, the V6/i4 mix can vary as required - day by day or week to week if necessary. I know they're looking at doing this but I suspect they won't commit to it until they have more info from reaction to pricing and on deposits converting to orders.

I'm a Lotus flag-waver and would give them the benefit of the doubt, but I think you're being generous on the comms. It's been poor and has included some basic errors and omissions. I really hope they can step it up.

Thanks for the new insight regarding the second shift. I agree they should step up on the communications. And as an add on I think it is peculiar they use different content per country. Just be transparant to your customers. We (the customers) find eachother in international forums, so why divide (and make it so diffuse) the content.

 

[Lotushavefun]

Hi guys and Gals, don't worry, good things come to those who wait. I put my C8 Z06 deposit back in 2019 and yes still waiting. Lol 😆

 

[Mike-engel]

I too would like to chime in with some sympathy for Lotus with regard to the being overwhelmed hypothesis. Sometimes when one is afforded an unexpected degree of success it can be very hard to manage. Your operation is not right sized to need and you can’t just snap your fingers and have everything be ok. It can take a while. I think where Lotus is stumbling from a comms perspective is being too concerned about how what they say will be interpreted and trying to manage something they really can’t control. By holding back and spinning unwanted news so it will be accepted by the audience, they are, in a soft but noticeable way that they don’t trust their customer (whether that’s true or not). Trust is a two way street. They should have the courage to be transparent with their customers. We can take it. And frankly, we will respect them that much more. For they would be more than a company that makes a great car, but also show themselves to be a company with humility and who have faith in the bond with their customers. That’s how you build a brand…because brand loyalty is really just another kind of relationship.

 

[Leonard]

I too would like to chime in with some sympathy for Lotus with regard to the being overwhelmed hypothesis. Sometimes when one is afforded an unexpected degree of success it can be very hard to manage. Your operation is not right sized to need and you can’t just snap your fingers and have everything be ok. It can take a while. I think where Lotus is stumbling from a comms perspective is being too concerned about how what they say will be interpreted and trying to manage something they really can’t control. By holding back and spinning unwanted news so it will be accepted by the audience, they are, in a soft but noticeable way that they don’t trust their customer (whether that’s true or not). Trust is a two way street. They should have the courage to be transparent with their customers. We can take it. And frankly, we will respect them that much more. For they would be more than a company that makes a great car, but also show themselves to be a company with humility and who have faith in the bond with their customers. That’s how you build a brand…because brand loyalty is really just another kind of relationship.

Amen to that.
As a CX professional it's really hard to sit back and see what we are being drip fed. There could be so many little wins they could be giving us now to help build that relationship.
Maybe they are drawing it out due to lack of resources...? But with roadshows happening now for deposit holders, I'd like to be seeing and hearing more.

 

[TomE]

The strange thing is, when you meet them all in person at the factory or Goodwood or dealerships they’re very open and friendly and engaging. They just don’t seem to be able to manage the large scale comms with different audience segments and put themselves in their customers shoes.


As an example, in the UK a Lotus sales admin team are phoning round deposit holders to explain the configuration options and ask people to commit a further £3k deposit to stay in the V6 FE queue. They are also supposed to answer any questions we have.

But the team have no information on the most obvious things we need in order to make that decision: how much is the i4 FE, what do the options each cost if I go own spec, how long will I have to wait if I switch from FE to own spec.

I sent in a list of questions several weeks ago and asked if they could be answered at the roadshows. We’ll see.

 

[klho001]

The strange thing is, when you meet them all in person at the factory or Goodwood or dealerships they’re very open and friendly and engaging. They just don’t seem to be able to manage the large scale comms with different audience segments and put themselves in their customers shoes.


As an example, in the UK a Lotus sales admin team are phoning round deposit holders to explain the configuration options and ask people to commit a further £3k deposit to stay in the V6 FE queue. They are also supposed to answer any questions we have.

But the team have no information on the most obvious things we need in order to make that decision: how much is the i4 FE, what do the options each cost if I go own spec, how long will I have to wait if I switch from FE to own spec.

I sent in a list of questions several weeks ago and asked if they could be answered at the roadshows. We’ll see.

Not surprising really. You’re comparing managing coms at an “unofficial” localized level vs official broad scale multi region/worldwide release. One relies on individual‘s knowledge the other is likely partly bogged down by red tape approvals.

 

[GarrethN]

After investing £100million, or thereabouts, into a new production facility, and knowing just what a design they had in front of them, it seems highly unlikely that Lotus didn’t expect a much larger demand than for previous models.

I wonder if some of the hesitancy giving I4 info might be down to dealing with the volume, the difficulty of actually getting enough skilled staff to allow a second shift to happen, especially when the whole “mass production” concept is new to Hethel.

Let’s just take a moment to consider just how much is changing and the huge amount of work that must be going on behind the scenes. Frustrating for us maybe, but ultimately, worth the wait i’m sure. I just hope we don’t get pushed back in the queue when asking for a bit more info……

 

[Lotushavefun]

I'm very confident, the upline people know exactly what they are capable of and doing. Be patient, once the first Emira rolls of the line, all nerves will be calm, all questions will be answered.. Soon after we will all see the quick flow of things and post our lovely pics of our Emira's! The Emira plans are already done, they are now in heavy plans to ramp up rolling out EV units for the future! Time for me to make a cup of tea and chill! Cheers yall!🙌

 

[Wolfram]

I'm worried. They are not getting their comms right - at all - it feels like a badly-executed mobile phone launch. Right down to the Steve Jobs-style reference to the car (I thought this had been exhausted and was now definitely not done). I think the quality of communication is utterly insulting for customers they are expecting > £75K from for a First Edition. And yet we are trusting that they will get every other aspect of building a new £100M production facility and a new car - which is far more technically complex than their outgoing models - absolutely right? Will they give anything like the peace of mind of the 2 year warranty and 7 years free servicing you get on a new Ferrari?

I get that there is a lot of change going on. But this is a car that is so different that Lotus has no history whatsoever with it. My wife was shocked that the appointment we have to go see the car - and presumably be expected to commit the additional £3K deposit - didn't include driving it. I know that expectation may have been unrealistic, but... the Lotus page still has the 'specifications based on simulations' disclaimer. Now I'm realising that, not only do we not get to drive it, nobody else (other than Jensen Button, who is paid by Lotus) has either.

 

[TomE]

On the design and build part I have to disagree - those they will absolutely nail. The ride and handling team have years of experience on brilliant sportscars, Russell and team have come up with a beautiful design, the aero team have done some really clever things to keep the aero balanced at speed with no active aero components. Where they've lacked skills in the past, like interiors and HCI, they've brought in new expertise (ex McLaren, Renault etc) and drawn on capabilities from across the Geely group.

As well as the investment in a new production facility they've also hired in people with modern production and quality control expertise. The core manufacturing techniques for this type of car are well known to Lotus and I'm curious what is you think is "so different" about it that they have no history on it. The interior is a step up, but the Evora was no stripped out Elise track machine.

For a brand new car still 6 months away from first deliveries it's not unusual to be asked to pay deposits without driving it. It's not certified yet so they're not even going to let the press drive it. Test drives will be available from Feb/Mar and I suspect deposits will still be refundable at that point for all except a very small number of early V6 FE buyers.

I know the car will be fantastic but I wish Lotus would tackle the other things that matter to prospective buyers if they are going to sell in large numbers. That includes comms, retailing and dealer network. They know they need to improve these and have said they will - I'm impatient to see more evidence of progress.

 

[Smegatron]

Does anyone know what it meant by the 'sports suspension' in the Lotus Drivers Pack? I'm assuming it means the choice of the touring or the sport setup but how is it different to what's offered in the 'base edition'.

 

[Wolfram]

I am assuming it's the lowered, stiffer sport damping setup, and that the 'base edition' would default to the touring setup.

What I'm not quite clear about is what's included in the First Edition? Do we get all of the Lotus Drivers Pack, Convenience Pack and Lotus Design Pack? Or do we have to choose one? Or will they all be cost options?

 

[VL3X]

What I'm not quite clear about is what's included in the First Edition? Do we get all of the Lotus Drivers Pack, Convenience Pack and Lotus Design Pack? Or do we have to choose one? Or will they all be cost options?

All 3 packs are included in the First Edition.

 

[falconexe]

All 3 packs are included in the First Edition.

I can also confirm this. All 3 packs will also be available and stackable on the non FE versions in 2023 from what I’ve heard. I made a thread that details the official FE offerings below. It details what is in each pack.

2022 Lotus Emira - V6 First Edition Specs Revealed!

Hey guys. I just got word from my dealer @GatorMotorsport, that I can officially share this information with you. Below are some new details that you may be interested in. Some Highlights: V6 Manual Steering Wheels WILL NOT have the colored 12 o'clock option and only come in Black...

www.emiraforum.com

 

[TomE]

Does anyone know what it meant by the 'sports suspension' in the Lotus Drivers Pack? I'm assuming it means the choice of the touring or the sport setup but how is it different to what's offered in the 'base edition'.

You've got a choice between Touring or Sports suspension. On the First Edition you can choose either with no cost difference. On the Base Edition you get Touring as standard and the Sports suspension is an option if you select the Drivers Pack. You can do Base + Touring or Base + Drivers + Touring or Base + Drivers + Sports. If you choose Touring you get the Eagle tyres, if you choose Sports you get a choice of Eagles or the Cups. All of these are no cost options on the FE but will be cost options on the Base. We don't know pricing yet for that.

Sports suspension is very track oriented. It's stiffer and has adjustable dampers. Touring is for fast road and occasional track. There's more info in other threads about Touring versus Sports.

 

[JPS_67]

The strange thing is, when you meet them all in person at the factory or Goodwood or dealerships they’re very open and friendly and engaging. They just don’t seem to be able to manage the large scale comms with different audience segments and put themselves in their customers shoes.


As an example, in the UK a Lotus sales admin team are phoning round deposit holders to explain the configuration options and ask people to commit a further £3k deposit to stay in the V6 FE queue. They are also supposed to answer any questions we have.

But the team have no information on the most obvious things we need in order to make that decision: how much is the i4 FE, what do the options each cost if I go own spec, how long will I have to wait if I switch from FE to own spec.

I sent in a list of questions several weeks ago and asked if they could be answered at the roadshows. We’ll see.

Can you share those questions with us?

 

[TomE]

Can you share those questions with us?

Probably more useful is that I share the answers! I'm at the dealer roadshow on Wed and will do a write up on everything I find out plus pics.

 

[Yachtie]

Had my call today, I was told that we had up to 5th November to finalise specification and pay £3k second refundable deposit to retain my delivery spot based on date of initial deposit. They can't give any idea where I am in the line until after 5th when they know how many FE V6's have been confirmed. She also indicated that it might be possible to change colour choice later as long as the car hadn't reached the paint shop yet!. I still have an issue in locking a colour in without seeing it on an actual car! At the moment I'm liking the red as shown by TomE on the Exige. For me it needs a bright colour so other options are the blue and yellow.