June delivery delay - Lotus now says July…

I was down for a June delivery but I’ve just received this from Lotus…

As you’ll be aware from our previous communication, your new Emira specification is now fixed in our production system and scheduled to be completed in June 2022. Therefore, we are pleased to inform you that your new Emira will be ready for handover in July 2022. Ahead of this, we will be in contact to arrange the delivery and handover with you. We appreciate this is later than originally predicted, so please accept our sincere apologies for the slight delay.

In the coming weeks we will be providing more information regarding financial services, trade-in and insurance products that you may be interested in for your new Emira. Following that, a couple of weeks before handover we will be in touch to complete the checkout process.
We know you have been waiting and are excited to receive your new Emira but please be assured that it will be everything you’d expect and more from a Lotus car.

I’m not that surprised but was wondering if anyone else hoping for a June car has been told it’s still on or is everyone’s delayed a little?

 

[Toomanyloti]

That was my plan although I don’t know anyone apart from car geeks that know how the number play system works anyway 🙂

to be even more geeky its my understanding that one only owns the right to use the registration. The DVLA/Dept Transport can take it back whenever they like should it take their fancy....
I just put a new plate on a new car and just sent the stealer a scan of the cert although the number is the only thing they need. Theoretically you could be scammed into losing the number if you divulge this info to the 'wrong' person.

 

[Toomanyloti]

Sorry for joining this very late. I got a call Monday 16th May last week asking the delivery option, trade in, number plate questions. I placed an order with the local dealer the day it was first mentioned (no price or photos back then) maybe May 2nd 2021. I was second person to do so with that dealer so No2 with them. Its an FE V6 Auto Touring. The lady on the phone said it would only be a couple/few weeks now maybe at worst case into July.
Apart from all the folks in the public eye who will have absolutely jumped the queue I'm not sure how one could get any earlier on the list? Anyway fingers crossed. If the seats are as SH!TE as the ones in the dealer model, which did the big tour, i'll be leaving it at the factory. I have been assured they will be sorted for production. To give you some perspective if you ever had the 'opportunity' so sit in an MGF then I don't need to say any more...yes really that bad

 

[emiraspain]

If my car were to be delivered in August, which in theory it wont be as Ive been told July also (deposit July 5th), I would seriously consider paying and doing all they want, but telling them to delay registration until September.... I am sure some people will do this, makes sense, even for private reg people.
The day you sell the car, there will surely be a 500 pound difference at least for the sake of waiting a couple of weeks...
Not happy to hear about quality..gaps... but it could be it was one car out of a batch of 20 and at least they spotted it I guess. I really do expect German like quality from the Emira and I doubt I would buy another car from them if I didnt get it, although having said that the only new mercedes I ever bought had several issues with the roof mechanism and interior door panels and thats MERcedes, albeit from about 20 years ago and American made SLK... I think thats what I was told, I lived in the US at the time.

Funny story... Rover plant 20 years ago.... When BMW took them over, Rover had ONE person working in their engine testing department, ie testing engines at low and high temperatures and in water etc. BMW engineers arrived and said where is the rest of your team...... Guy said, I am the team. BMW had a dozen people doing the same job. Maybe a few more engines, but even still.... quality costs money and while Colin Chap..... saved weight, he also saved money and often at cost of safety. Porsche didnt worry too much about weight, more about quality and we know which way they both went... albeit bumpy roads, but I really do pray for a quality product. I can accept the 0-60 wont ever be 4 seconds, and it wont be, not without 450HP I guess, but I cant accept poor quality / control, so fingers crossed...
in fact, I can almost picture the reviews now...... great car, just tesla like build quality.... NOOOOO. lets be positive, it will be quality!!!!

 

[TomE]

Sorry for joining this very late. I got a call Monday 16th May last week asking the delivery option, trade in, number plate questions. I placed an order with the local dealer the day it was first mentioned (no price or photos back then) maybe May 2nd 2021. I was second person to do so with that dealer so No2 with them. Its an FE V6 Auto Touring. The lady on the phone said it would only be a couple/few weeks now maybe at worst case into July.
Apart from all the folks in the public eye who will have absolutely jumped the queue I'm not sure how one could get any earlier on the list? Anyway fingers crossed. If the seats are as SH!TE as the ones in the dealer model, which did the big tour, i'll be leaving it at the factory. I have been assured they will be sorted for production. To give you some perspective if you ever had the 'opportunity' so sit in an MGF then I don't need to say any more...yes really that bad

Welcome! And nice to have another early adopter on the forum. Sounds like you placed a dealer deposit shortly after Lotus announced the Emira name on 27 April 2021. To be any earlier than that you needed to know about Project Gamma (the project) or Type 131 (the car). I believe there are about 30 of us with pre 27 April deposits and about 100-120 with deposits before the official reveal on 6 July 2021.

It looks like anyone who placed a deposit before the reveal, which is when the central online deposit system opened, is going to get their car in July. Fingers crossed for no more delays. Hopefully we'll be getting a call to talk about delivery dates in the next 2-3 weeks.

 

[TomE]

If my car were to be delivered in August, which in theory it wont be as Ive been told July also (deposit July 5th), I would seriously consider paying and doing all they want, but telling them to delay registration until September.... I am sure some people will do this, makes sense, even for private reg people.
The day you sell the car, there will surely be a 500 pound difference at least for the sake of waiting a couple of weeks...
Not happy to hear about quality..gaps... but it could be it was one car out of a batch of 20 and at least they spotted it I guess. I really do expect German like quality from the Emira and I doubt I would buy another car from them if I didnt get it, although having said that the only new mercedes I ever bought had several issues with the roof mechanism and interior door panels and thats MERcedes, albeit from about 20 years ago and American made SLK... I think thats what I was told, I lived in the US at the time.

Funny story... Rover plant 20 years ago.... When BMW took them over, Rover had ONE person working in their engine testing department, ie testing engines at low and high temperatures and in water etc. BMW engineers arrived and said where is the rest of your team...... Guy said, I am the team. BMW had a dozen people doing the same job. Maybe a few more engines, but even still.... quality costs money and while Colin Chap..... saved weight, he also saved money and often at cost of safety. Porsche didnt worry too much about weight, more about quality and we know which way they both went... albeit bumpy roads, but I really do pray for a quality product. I can accept the 0-60 wont ever be 4 seconds, and it wont be, not without 450HP I guess, but I cant accept poor quality / control, so fingers crossed...
in fact, I can almost picture the reviews now...... great car, just tesla like build quality.... NOOOOO. lets be positive, it will be quality!!!!

I hope the Emira doesn't have German-like quality! My wife's Audi and daughter's VW have had way more issues and unexpected expense than my Evora.

Hopefully it'll have Toyota levels of reliability and build quality, as that's one of the firms who have provided consultancy to Lotus on their production engineering and QA.

 

[spice]

I hope the Emira doesn't have German-like quality! My wife's Audi and daughter's VW have had way more issues and unexpected expense than my Evora.

Hopefully it'll have Toyota levels of reliability and build quality, as that's one of the firms who have provided consultancy to Lotus on their production engineering and QA.

 

[eclat2emira]

I hope the Emira doesn't have German-like quality! My wife's Audi and daughter's VW have had way more issues and unexpected expense than my Evora.

Hopefully it'll have Toyota levels of reliability and build quality, as that's one of the firms who have provided consultancy to Lotus on their production engineering and QA.

The Toyota consulting sounds promising Tom, especially as there is a pre-existing strong relationship.

 

[spice]

Got a call this morning confirming July build , so presume August delivery , opted for factory collection 👍 , looking forward to the reviews .

 

[DJS]

Got a call this morning confirming July build , so presume August delivery , opted for factory collection 👍 , looking forward to the reviews .

What date was your deposit ?

 

[Emira]

What date was your deposit ?

I had my call yesterday too which was the same. Deposit 8 July early evening.

 

[DJS]

I had my call yesterday too which was the same. Deposit 8 July early evening.

I re confirmed my spec and delivery on Friday and they confirmed August build with a September delivery, deposit 7am 10th July, they also said my date looks a pretty solid so i'm guessing that means they have everything in place.

 

[spice]

What date was your deposit ?

8th July 2pm

 

[freefall_junkie]

It looks like anyone who placed a deposit before the reveal, which is when the central online deposit system opened, is going to get their car in July. Fingers crossed for no more delays. Hopefully we'll be getting a call to talk about delivery dates in the next 2-3 weeks.

Really encouraging and exciting that the July deliveries still appear to be on track. I am a bit puzzled about when all these cars will be built though. My understanding was that the July batch was going to be larger than a normal month and would contain orders originally scheduled for build in April, May and June. We know from factory visit reports that the production line was at a standstill due to parts shortages last week and the two weeks before that. Presumably Lotus are confident they can ramp up production quickly throughout June. Hopefully with finished seats

On another note, still no word of the mooted test drive events for those with a July delivery, so I'm assuming that is not on now. I could see quite a few people balking at stumping up the final £70k when they haven't even seen or sat in a production car.

 

[freefall_junkie]

Quick update on test drive events. Just had a web chat with CS and events to allow those with a July slot to drive a car prior to the final 30 day payment are "currently being discussed by Marketing and we should have information shortly with regards to this". Sounds promising. However I was advised something similar several weeks ago so I'm not holding my breath. Strangely I'm actually not too bothered about the actual drive as I am very confident the dynamics will be brilliant, but I would really like the opportunity to check out the final seat and driving position.

 

[DrD]

Had my call today too, 8th Jul 4pm deposit. Confirmed "in the first 20" for August delivery, July completion. Explicitly not July delivery. (V6 Man FE, DV)

Confirmed test drives end of next month, possibly earlier (unlikely), mid June.

Confirmed there will be pictures of all colours without any filters, in studio lighting on the site by the end of next week.

 

[Yachtie]

My deposit was 11am on 8th July, not had my call yet. Based on my experience at Goodwood I suspect there were a lot more than 20 deposits between 11am and 4pm, wonder if I could sneek into July. Booked to go on holiday 2nd August with Emira, might be a bit tight!! Still Elise to fall back on!

 

[tjlazer]

My dealer (Luxembourg) just told first customer delivery is now September and he expects his dealer cars in July. No news on i4 (due to a strategic delay on pricing whatever that means) but he said that the factory would still have the possibility to deliver some i4 cars before the end of 2022. Fortunately I have been incredibly lazy about selling my existing car otherwise I’d have probably bought something else 😂

 

[emiraspain]

My dealer (Luxembourg) just told first customer delivery is now September and he expects his dealer cars in July. No news on i4 (due to a strategic delay on pricing whatever that means) but he said that the factory would still have the possibility to deliver some i4 cars before the end of 2022. Fortunately I have been incredibly lazy about selling my existing car otherwise I’d have probably bought something else 😂

Good luck, but I would imagine first being made in September and shipping etc etc and actually October delivery. The first ones in Spain are also Sept / Oct, but I think far more likely Oct..... we shall see. Get selling

 

[Yachtie]

Had my call today from Alex in Lotus customer care, big shout out to him as he explained everything very clearly and answered every question i asked, there was no hurry to complete the call.
Most points have been discussed above but my deposit on 8th July at 11am meant I am in the first 500 or so and would be early August. Sadly away on holiday for the first two weeks so probably mid August collection from factory.
As others have said we should get call about 30 days before a confirmed delivery date to finalise details. Indicated that a cash buyer may not have to pay until a week before collection
He seemed reasonably confident that quoted schedules would happen.
Maybe I’m overly optimistic but they will need to start production mid June to start deliveries in July so I would hope they know by now that parts and production facilites are in place to achieve this??!!.................. 🤞

 

[TomE]

Really encouraging and exciting that the July deliveries still appear to be on track. I am a bit puzzled about when all these cars will be built though. My understanding was that the July batch was going to be larger than a normal month and would contain orders originally scheduled for build in April, May and June. We know from factory visit reports that the production line was at a standstill due to parts shortages last week and the two weeks before that. Presumably Lotus are confident they can ramp up production quickly throughout June. Hopefully with finished seats

On another note, still no word of the mooted test drive events for those with a July delivery, so I'm assuming that is not on now. I could see quite a few people balking at stumping up the final £70k when they haven't even seen or sat in a production car.

I know what you mean about the July batch and I too am not sure it's just all of the June (larger) batch shifted back a month. I'd been told the original June (April + May + June) batch was about 450 UK cars, so did need more than a month of production to build them all. More recently I'd heard (but not confirmed) the revised July batch is 200-250 cars, which suggests some of the 450 slipped from June to July and some from June to August. I think we've seen some evidence of that.

I do know they intend to have two shifts almost from day one of full production, so the catch up they'd planned by doing the enlarged June batch may now be achieved by higher output across Aug/Sep/Oct instead.