By Mike Duff \/ Friday, 15 December 2023 \/ Loading comments<\/p>\n
Sometimes the line between news and lived experience blurs to invisibility. That\u2019s been the case at PH for some time, where our reporting on the slipping delivery dates for the Lotus Emira has been echoed in the forums by many would-be owners reporting on their personal orders. That was the case for the V6-powered model, which slipped so far that Lotus boss Matt Windle posted an apology video explaining the delays last June. But it is also the case for the newest cars that feature the AMG four-cylinder engine we drove in August, with the first customer deliveries now delayed till halfway through next year.<\/p>\n
Having seen the story developing in the forums, we\u2019ve done some digging to try and clarify things. And the official position is that it is, sadly, correct. Lotus says that everybody in the UK with an order for the 2.0-litre car in place should already have been contacted directly and told of the delay. So if you haven\u2019t been, feel aggrieved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been keeping them up to date at a personal level with phone calls to each and every Emira customer who is waiting for their car delivery,\u201d a Lotus spokesman told PH. \u201cWe expect the four-cylinder variant of the Emira to be delivered in time for summer next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officially there is no more exact timing than that \u2013 leaving a fairly substantial window for the deliveries to actually begin. PHer LordOfTheManor reports being told this means June which, against the understandable irritation of another delay, is about as good as \u2018summer\u2019 could be. But Lotus still needs to meet this revised target \u2013 not something it has a stellar track record with. <\/p>\n
Lotus says the summer timing applies to both British and European cars, so this is not an issue exclusively to do with UK-specific type approval. We\u2019re also told that US deliveries will be behind that, so North American buyers will be waiting even longer. <\/p>\n
But not everybody is facing a delay \u2013 customers in China have already reported receiving their Hethel-built four-cylinder Emiras, and visitors to the factory tell PH that the AMG variant is in full production. The official reason remains familiar, very similar in fact to the one that Windle gave last year to explain the overdue V6. <\/p>\n
\u201cLotus was affected by the global supply chain constraints, which impacted manufacturing in the UK. This was a result of various factors which had knock-on effects on our vehicle program and delivery timeline. We have been making significant progress and there are still some final checks and certification that need to be completed before customer deliveries can start.\u201d<\/p>\n
With some disappointed buyers known to have already cancelled orders, Lotus needs to make sure the schedule doesn\u2019t slip any further \u2013 especially as the sports car market starts to suffer from the effects of steep interest rates and slowing demand. We will be keeping a very close eye on this one.<\/p>\n