Hot! Lotus News and what's happening next, plus rumours and technology updates!

[Tourbillon]

Some of the other manufacturer sites have this type of section for News and updates but there wasn't one here. There is now.

But it's not the best News unfortunately for the individuals concerned~

"Sportscar maker Lotus Cars to cut 200 jobs as accounts reveal heavy losses

Sportscar-maker Lotus Cars is to cut up to 200 jobs in a move it claims will make it "leaner and more competitive long-term".

The manufacturer, which is based at Hethel in Norfolk, described the move as a restructure of its workforce" and said it would work to find new roles for workers where possible.

It has not said where the

Lotus is owned by the Chinese car giant Geely, which took a majority stake in Lotus in May 2017, when it vowed to "unleash the full potential" of the marque, with the ambition to raise production to 10,000 cars a year.

Lotus Cars' most recent accounts, published on Friday, showed that the number of cars the company sold dropped from 1,566 in 2021 to just 576 in 2022.

A note in the accounts explained that the drop in sales was "limited in the second half of the year with the production challenges faced" by the supply chain the automotive sector.

The company lost £145.1m in the year to 31 December 2022, up from losses of £86.6m a year before.

A Lotus spokesman confirmed the job cut plans, and said: "Lotus Cars' proposal for a reorganisation of its business is to ensure that the right organisational structure is in place for us to achieve our business goals and to build a strong, sustainable future.

"This includes a restructure of its workforce, which may involve the loss of up to 200 jobs.

"Wherever possible, we will look to support the redeployment of staff and plan to look for ways to retain specific skills and knowledge within the business, despite the proposed cuts. We believe this is vital to ensuring the organisation is leaner and more competitive long-term."

The firm said it expected 2023 to be a "record year for vehicle production".

The spokesman added: "Our shareholders have made a clear commitment that the UK, having invested over £500m into Lotus Cars’ UK R&D [research and development] and operations and created many new jobs at our new London headquarters, as well as in Norfolk, and this shows the long-term commitment to the brand in the UK."

https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2023-07-19/sportscar-maker-to-cut-200-jobs-amid-heavy-losses

Those are disappointing numbers I'm sure most would agree.

 

[A.P.]

British car manufacturers for you...another one struggling economically!

 

[Centurion]

Those are disappointing numbers I'm sure most would agree.

Yes. That's a big layoff for a small automotive manufacturer. My hypothesis is that they over-hired for the Emira launch and production ramp-up. It's better to be overstaffed than understaffed.

Now that production has scaled up and is running more efficiently, they are trimming the fat.

 

[Matski]

Now that production has scaled up and is running more efficiently, they are trimming the fat.

According to the filing the company structure was as follows in 2022:

Management & administration: 1145 employees (up 332 from 2021)
Production & sales: 445 employees (down 127 from 2021)

I'd agree that as production of the 'old' product range (Evora/Exige/Elise) range ceased in 2021 staffing swung away from manufacturing and towards getting the Emira/Evija/Eletre 'set up', and now that's happened most of these cuts will come from the Management & administration group.

The above staffing figures saw production output of 867 cars in 2022 and 1402 in 2021... getting to 10,000 from <445 workers would be quite a feat, you'd have to wonder how much is then being bought in ready manufactured from Ningbo, Lynk&Co, Shanghai Global Trading Co or Volvo.

 

[Tourbillon]

British car manufacturers for you...another one struggling economically!

Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Mini are fine? Oh, my bad!

 

[Centurion]

According to the filing the company structure was as follows in 2022:

Management & administration: 1145 employees (up 332 from 2021)
Production & sales: 445 employees (down 127 from 2021)

I'd agree that as production of the 'old' product range (Evora/Exige/Elise) range ceased in 2021 staffing swung away from manufacturing and towards getting the Emira/Evija/Eletre 'set up', and now that's happened most of these cuts will come from the Management & administration group.

The above staffing figures saw production output of 867 cars in 2022 and 1402 in 2021... getting to 10,000 from <445 workers would be quite a feat, you'd have to wonder how much is then being bought in ready manufactured from Ningbo, Lynk&Co, Shanghai Global Trading Co or Volvo.

That headcount should be enough if only the Emira and Evija are produced at the UK plant.

 

[Tourbillon]

Lotus produces record 2,200 sports cars in first half of 2023!

British carmaker also gearing up for sales of new Eletre electric SUV under Chinese owner Geely’s expansion plans

Wed 9 Aug 2023 19.01 EDT

Lotus produces record 2,200 sports cars in first half of 2023

British carmaker also gearing up for sales of new Eletre electric SUV under Chinese owner Geely’s expansion plans

www.theguardian.com

The British carmaker Lotus produced a record number of sports cars in the first half of 2023, as it gears up for a huge push behind sales of a new electric SUV under its Chinese owners’ expansion plans.

Lotus, which marked its 75th anniversary this year, produced 2,200 vehicles in the first six months of the year at its factory in a former second world war bomber factory at Hethel in Norfolk.

The bulk of the vehicles built were the Emira sports car, the first new Lotus product since the Chinese automotive group Geely bought a 51% stake in 2017.

The production record will not last long, as Lotus has started to deliver the first of its Eletre sports utility vehicles from a new factory in Wuhan, China, as part of a Geely plan to increase annual production to 150,000 by 2028.

Geely has invested more than £3bn in Lotus, ahead of a planned listing of its electric car business on New York’s Nasdaq stock exchange. It will float through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) backed by LVMH, the luxury goods company controlled by the billionaire Bernard Arnault.

“We’re seeing the first green shoots of the investment coming through,” said Mike Johnstone, who was appointed as Lotus’s chief commercial officer in January. “It shows that the machine is cranking up now.”

Lotus said its order book had grown to approximately 17,000 vehicles worldwide for the £90,000 Eletre and the £81,000 Emira, Lotus’s final petrol car. It is also producing a limited number of its all-electric Evija hypercar, which will be sold to the super-rich for £1.7m apiece.

The company is planning to reveal a new saloon car this year and a smaller SUV next year before another electric sports car, to be built at Hethel, in 2025. The expansion will require more factory space beyond the Wuhan plant, and Lotus is considering building another factory in the US.

Johnstone said the US Inflation Reduction Act “could act as a way to encourage us to do manufacturing there”, but also acknowledged that the potential for tariffs on US imports could be a factor.

The UK is not being considered for another factory, but it will remain the base for Lotus sports cars.
“For us the UK is incredibly important,” Johnstone said. Making cars in the UK is “part of our DNA”, he added.

Lotus has long been known for producing a small number of handbuilt race cars and sports cars. Its founder, Colin Chapman, famously focused on removing any excess weight to make the cars faster and more nimble than rivals with bigger engines.

The SUV push will do the opposite, but the company said the Eletre would retain Lotus’s handling characteristics because engineers had focused on the weight distribution throughout the car.

Building an SUV has become a well-worn path for sports and luxury carmakers looking to increase sales and cater to growing markets for very expensive vehicles, particularly in Asia. Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Aston Martin and even Ferrari have all released SUVs.

Johnstone said the SUV buyers were about a decade younger than a typical Lotus customer, and there were far more women."

 

[Centurion]

The production record will not last long, as Lotus has started to deliver the first of its Eletre sports utility vehicles from a new factory in Wuhan, China, as part of a Geely plan to increase annual production to 150,000 by 2028.

Mind boggling target. I presume the small SUV will be VERY affordable as I don’t think they will annually sell more than 25k Eletre.

 

[Tourbillon]

Mind boggling target. I presume the small SUV will be VERY affordable as I don’t think they will annually sell more than 25k Eletre.

I'd buy a 25K Eletre. Or am I getting my lbs and £'s mixed up again LOL!

But very, and deadly seriously, the Business and Financial side of Automotive was never high up on my list of priorities to read, recently. Ambitious very ambitious numbers and targets!

I've picked up on it more being here. But atleast there's something here for Lotus. What the hell is going on elsewhere? Smh!

 

[tristatez28lt1]

I have high doubts that Lotus will come even close to 50% of that target. This looks a lot like the plans for Alfa and Maserati and they never reached their volume target either.

 

[Tourbillon]

I have high doubts that Lotus will come even close to 50% of that target. This looks a lot like the plans for Alfa and Maserati and they never reached their volume target either.

They'd settle for 25% of that and that's probably pushing it. If they prove us wrong then good it's win win.

 

[Centurion]

I have high doubts that Lotus will come even close to 50% of that target. This looks a lot like the plans for Alfa and Maserati and they never reached their volume target either.

What will generate greater ROI:
1. Investing more money into Volvo and Polestar.
2. Pouring billions into expanding the Lotus dealer network and invest in celebrity marketing to promote the brand.

Growth is good but pursuing astronomical sales targets for the sake of it is not good - unless they plan to slap lotus logos on Geely crossovers and call it a day.

 

[Sunny]

unless they plan to slap lotus logos on Geely crossovers and call it a day.

But that is exactly what Lotus is/will be - a brand sticker to whitewash Chinese cars.

 

[KiwiRob]

But that is exactly what Lotus is/will be - a brand sticker to whitewash Chinese cars.

That new Eleter isn’t a rebranded whitewashed Chinese car, the reviews so far show it to be a very impressive vehicle. Geely hasn’t gone down that route with Volvo or Polestar, so I don’t see them doing it with Lotus.

 

[Sunny]

That new Eleter isn’t a rebranded whitewashed Chinese car, the reviews so far show it to be a very impressive vehicle. Geely hasn’t gone down that route with Volvo or Polestar, so I don’t see them doing it with Lotus.

Your naivete is amusing.

 

[KiwiRob]

Your naivete is amusing.

Alright you want to go there so I will. What’s the difference between Geely using the same platform on various models it manufacturers, Volvo, Polestar, Zeeker & Lotus and VAG who platform share between Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Audi, Skoda, Seat and VW? Or in your bigoted narrow minded world is that ok because they’re German?

Geely and Nio are far ahead of most western vehicle manufacturers for BEV technology, they only lag behind Tesla and I doubt they will be behind them for long. The Chines build world class BEVs it’s only a naive person who thinks otherwise.

One of the parents at the school my kids go to has a Nio ES8, it’s a really impressive car, the build quality is easily as good as anything from Germany. The only reason I wouldn’t buy one is the same reason why I won’t buy a Honda, Polestar or Porsche we don’t have a dealer in town, I don’t fancy driving a couple of hours and a ferry crossing to get to one.

 

[Sunny]

Alright you want to go there so I will. What’s the difference between Geely using the same platform on various models it manufacturers, Volvo, Polestar, Zeeker & Lotus and VAG who platform share between Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Audi, Skoda, Seat and VW? Or in your bigoted narrow minded world is that ok because they’re German?

Then I would call "Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Audi, Skoda, Seat and VW" German, just as I would call "Volvo, Polestar, Zeeker & Lotus" Chinese. I didn't know calling something of Chinese origin, Chinese is bigoted. You are the f#cking bigot here in assuming that is somehow bad.

The funny thing is the implicit racism is so deeply integrated into you, you don't even realize it while sprouting it. So go reflect on that.

ps. And yes, I too think Chinese are ahead in BEVs in many ways than many of the legacy companies. But that has nothing to with calling something Chinese, Chinese.

 

[Tourbillon]

Lotus reveals record-breaking order books for Eletre and Emira

17,000 orders for the SUV and sports car placed worldwide as the company looks to bounce back from heavy losses!

Lotus reveals record-breaking order books for Eletre and Emira

17,000 orders for the SUV and sports car placed worldwide as the company looks to bounce back from heavy losses

www.topgear.com

Joe Holding
Published: 10 Aug 2023

Lotus has confirmed that the first half of 2023 has been a record-breaker for sales, with around 17,000 orders placed for the new Eletre SUV and the Emira sports car.

Okay, so the eagle-eyed among you will point out that we already knew this, but the positive noises are worth hearing all the same.

The Emira was launched in 2022 and 2,200 examples have been built in the UK this year, a 381 per cent increase. Crikey, no wonder order books are full for the next two years.

And deliveries of the Eletre began in China at the end of March, with Lotus’ first electric car (we’re still waiting on the Evija, harumph) expected to arrive in Europe in a few weeks’ time.

The numbers are a welcome relief for a company that lost £145 million and shifted just 567 cars last year. Around 200 job cuts are looming as well, although Lotus has always insisted that these are unrelated to its financial performance.

It also expanded its retail presence this year, adding 24 locations worldwide for a total of 193 stores. This includes expansion into South Korea, which it’s identified as a key market for luxury vehicles.

“We set an ambitious goal in 2018, with the launch of our Vision80 strategy to transform the business from a traditional automotive brand to become an all-electric, luxury, mobility provider in ten years,” says Feng Qingfeng, CEO of Lotus Group. “We have spent the last few years laying the foundations for success and today’s announcement demonstrates that Lotus is no longer the same business that it has been in previous years.

"We are firmly on track to becoming a global performance brand by 2028.”

Let’s hope so. A Porsche Taycan rival is finished and is set to be revealed later this year. An electric sports car is in the pipeline too, despite the idea of a joint development programme with Alpine falling through."

Thank God for that!

 

[KiwiRob]

Then I would call "Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Audi, Skoda, Seat and VW" German, just as I would call "Volvo, Polestar, Zeeker & Lotus" Chinese. I didn't know calling something of Chinese origin, Chinese is bigoted. You are the f#cking bigot here in assuming that is somehow bad.

The funny thing is the implicit racism is so deeply integrated into you, you don't even realize it while sprouting it. So go reflect on that.

ps. And yes, I too think Chinese are ahead in BEVs in many ways than many of the legacy companies. But that has nothing to with calling something Chinese, Chinese.

What you were implying is racist, keep digging that hole is getting deeper.

 

[Tourbillon]

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Well that's certainly interesting?