Dealer Demo cars in Europe and UK

[Eagle7]

Are all these demo cars showing up in Europe left-hand drive? Maybe they just did all the left-hand demo cars for everywhere at the same time when they were putting together that tour group going to the U.S.

 

[TomE]

Yes they‘re all LHD. Apparently the parts supply issues have affected RHD cars much more than LHD. Hence why the final stage pre-production and press cars were almost all LHD too. And why the UK demos keep being pushed back.

Much to the surprise of the UK dealers, who weren’t told in advance, they didn’t get the first cars. Equally surprisingly, the first customer cars are going to European customers too.

 

[Eagle7]

I noticed on the one picture of the DV at the concours, that the placard in front of the car said Bridge of Weir. Isn't that the company that makes the leather for the Emira? Maybe this particular 'customer' car is for the president or owner of the company? It would make sense that some of the earliest customers might be people like that from the suppliers who saw the concept very early on before anybody else.

 

[DaaS]

A demo car has also arrived at Lotus Haese in Wiesbaden Germany

View attachment 8534View attachment 8535

That’s my spec!! Would appreciate more photos if they exist.

 

[TomE]

I noticed on the one picture of the DV at the concours, that the placard in front of the car said Bridge of Weir. Isn't that the company that makes the leather for the Emira? Maybe this particular 'customer' car is for the president or owner of the company? It would make sense that some of the earliest customers might be people like that from the suppliers who saw the concept very early on before anybody else.

Yes it’s the leather supplier. I think the placard said “Presented by Bridge of Weir” so I assumed they were sponsoring the entry as a showcase for their work. They could be getting a car for their own PR use.

 

[TomE]

That’s my spec!! Would appreciate more photos if they exist.

Keep an eye on:

Lotus - Autohaus Haese

Deutschlands ältester Lotus Vertragspartner mit der größten Lotus Auswahl im Rhein-Main Gebiet.... Anna-Birle-Str. 7, 55252 Wiesbaden, Germany

www.facebook.com

and

LOTUS Haese (@lotushaese) • Instagram photos and videos

instagram.com

 

[Cachaco131]

Are all these demo cars showing up in Europe left-hand drive? Maybe they just did all the left-hand demo cars for everywhere at the same time when they were putting together that tour group going to the U.S.

Don't forget they are angry at TomE so RHD production is on hold. 😁

 

[EspritGuy]

Yes they‘re all LHD. Apparently the parts supply issues have affected RHD cars much more than LHD. Hence why the final stage pre-production and press cars were almost all LHD too. And why the UK demos keep being pushed back.

Much to the surprise of the UK dealers, who weren’t told in advance, they didn’t get the first cars. Equally surprisingly, the first customer cars are going to European customers too.

Clearly a case of the Right hand not knowing what
the Left hand is getting.

 

[Eagle7]

Don't forget they are angry at TomE so RHD production is on hold. 😁

Oh pffft. It's probably a matter of scheduling efficiency. Get all the LHD demo cars and a few customer cars for EMEA done first, then switch everything over to RHD production for not only demo cars, but a few thousand customer cars to follow. While they're doing that, the LHD demo team is touring the U.S. Then starting in January, the production line switches over to produce the 700 V6 FE's for North America.

It's good to see production cars starting to come off the line though, regardless of which drive orientation.

 

[Lotustoronto]

Yes they‘re all LHD. Apparently the parts supply issues have affected RHD cars much more than LHD. Hence why the final stage pre-production and press cars were almost all LHD too. And why the UK demos keep being pushed back.

Much to the surprise of the UK dealers, who weren’t told in advance, they didn’t get the first cars. Equally surprisingly, the first customer cars are going to European customers too.

Interesting, really didn't expect that. I am happy for any customer cars getting out there and progress occurring. The fact that a customer car was delivered in the first week of September is better than I anticipated since the last delay was announced. If that is the case, these Demo cars must be 100% production finished.

Next week should be interesting as this content keeps coming in... can't wait!

 

[TomE]

Oh pffft. It's probably a matter of scheduling efficiency. Get all the LHD demo cars and a few customer cars for EMEA done first, then switch everything over to RHD production for not only demo cars, but a few thousand customer cars to follow. While they're doing that, the LHD demo team is touring the U.S. Then starting in January, the production line switches over to produce the 700 V6 FE's for North America.

It's good to see production cars starting to come off the line though, regardless of which drive orientation.

They don’t have to switch the line between LHD and RHD, they can build both at the same time. The issue is the more problematic parts supply for the RHD version.

 

[Leonard]

They don’t have to switch the line between LHD and RHD, they can build both at the same time. The issue is the more problematic parts supply for the RHD version.

Makes sense as most of the parts used will derive from predominantly LHD models

 

[JimH]

As far back as Goodwood Lotus were talking about dashboard supply issues - the two screens have to be shipped from China to Germany, where the whole dashboard pre-assembly is made, then shipped "in a box" to Hethel for installation - as one of the major LHD/RHD components, perhaps it's still those.....?

 

[EspritGuy]

Makes sense as most of the parts used will derive from predominantly LHD models

 

[Eagle7]

They don’t have to switch the line between LHD and RHD, they can build both at the same time. The issue is the more problematic parts supply for the RHD version.

Right, that's why I said it might be a scheduling issue. It would just be easier to schedule production for the parts you have, rather than try to plan around parts arriving that you don't have.

 

[4380r]

Right, that's why I said it might be a scheduling issue. It would just be easier to schedule production for the parts you have, rather than try to plan around parts arriving that you don't have.

Wouldn’t you then have accumulating WIP in varying levels of completion, waiting for parts? Don’t know if that gains any efficiencies.

 

[Magicman]

This pic is from another thread. Not the best placement IMO.

Bloody hell that looks terrible there, pure afterthought. Hope it's just the picture angle

 

[Eagle7]

Wouldn’t you then have accumulating WIP in varying levels of completion, waiting for parts? Don’t know if that gains any efficiencies.

It might, depending on how far the completion is, and what it's going to take to move it to the area where it can be completed. They have to store those partial completions somewhere, then move them back from there to complete the build.

There's also the issue of simply having the space to store everything. There's enough differences in parts and components between LHD and RHD, that it would require some serious warehouse space to store all of that to completely build a car. I assume the basic chassis is the same, but you have different front steering systems, different door panels, seats, and of course the dash itself. You also need a different wiring harness. Multiply that by however many cars you're scheduling to build.

Since I'm assuming Lotus is using the JIT system like everybody does, to me it would make more sense to schedule a run for one type of setup for no other reason than efficient use of warehouse space, and whatever system they use to feed all of that into the assembly line.

I haven't been there so I don't know how big their storage facility is, but they're going to be building more cars than ever before, and in a shorter time than ever before. They've been used to building about 1,600 cars a year, not thousands in a few months. That kind of demand requires storage and an efficient system of managing it.

 

[eriegz]

Looks like Italy just got their first car too:

The New Lotus Emira is here!!
One of the first arrived in Italy 🇮🇹

 

[grahamgreen]

Looks to high…

Lowering springs for me if this is the way we receive them