Love hearing all the inputs on this, and I hope Lotus is listening! Defintely been a rough patch in the last 4.5 years for any automaker, from Covid and the related supply chain issues, to hard EV mandates in many countries, only to be later recinded/diluted/delayed, causing many resets back to hybrids and even doubling back down on ICE (Mazda!). It's no wonder a small company like Lotus was left in the dust, wondering what the best strategy will be.
And Lotus has always been a low volume specialty manufacturer and has survived a long time this way. I don't have the exact numbers but a quick imperfect google search says this:
- Elise, Exige, and Evora (Model Lines): 51,738 (over 26 years)
- 2023 Deliveries: 6,970, including 63% BEV models
- 2024 (First Nine Months): 7,617 deliveries, up 136% year-on-year, primarily in Europe
So over 26 years of Elise, Exige and Evora production, Lotus sold an average of less than 2,000 cars per year and still stayed in business. 2023 and 2024 saw this production more than triple. Although I realize they've probably lost more money in the last couple of years than in ALL of those previous year combined, it does seem likely to me that either Geely will double down with their deep pockets and pull it through or they'll be sold off at fire-sale pricing to the next suitor committed to keeping the Lotus brand alive. Certainly a return to F1, depending on how that pans out, couldn't hurt in their market visibility/brand awareness. And I agree, time for Bond to be driving an Emira, preferably with skis mounted on top!!
