Lotus emira for $77k?
Discussion
I doubt it.
Look at the C8 Corvette in the UK. List in the US starts at ~66k, so that's just over 53k GBP. The UK price?... 87k POUNDS
I anticipate that like every other greedy f**ker they will try to milk all the possible profit out of this while they have limited production capability. Then as capacity starts to outstrip demand they will have to make the choice of whether to dump the price to generate sales (and thus screw over an early adopters), however, in all probability by then market enthusiasm will have waned...
but I'd love to be wrong.
Look at the C8 Corvette in the UK. List in the US starts at ~66k, so that's just over 53k GBP. The UK price?... 87k POUNDS
I anticipate that like every other greedy f**ker they will try to milk all the possible profit out of this while they have limited production capability. Then as capacity starts to outstrip demand they will have to make the choice of whether to dump the price to generate sales (and thus screw over an early adopters), however, in all probability by then market enthusiasm will have waned...
but I'd love to be wrong.
I live in the US and familiar with capitalism.
In the US Lotus is a very niche brand for hardcore car enthusiasts. Based upon previous history the Emira will gain a small fraction of the market that is accessed by the Cayman/Boxster, but that market opportunity exists and the Emira has the looks to appeal to people other than just hardcore enthusiasts. The obvious parallel is that for a couple of years when the design was fresh, the F type outsold the Cayman / Boxster.
I think it will be more difficult to increase volume from a weak start with a mature product than it is to grow sales with a new car. However, rather than make a big splash with a new product at an attractive price and get a foothold in the market, the prices start at 105k USD; high enough that people will just look at the risk and buy a Porsche. IMO it's an opportunity that is being missed.
In the US Lotus is a very niche brand for hardcore car enthusiasts. Based upon previous history the Emira will gain a small fraction of the market that is accessed by the Cayman/Boxster, but that market opportunity exists and the Emira has the looks to appeal to people other than just hardcore enthusiasts. The obvious parallel is that for a couple of years when the design was fresh, the F type outsold the Cayman / Boxster.
I think it will be more difficult to increase volume from a weak start with a mature product than it is to grow sales with a new car. However, rather than make a big splash with a new product at an attractive price and get a foothold in the market, the prices start at 105k USD; high enough that people will just look at the risk and buy a Porsche. IMO it's an opportunity that is being missed.
Edited by ShortBeardy on Thursday 13th April 17:30
Edited by ShortBeardy on Thursday 13th April 17:32
I agree with you. Up to now Lotus has been sold in low numbers to a niche demographic. The Lotus presence and awareness within the car buying public of the US is small to non existent. The Emira has the looks and practicality to change that, but they only get to release it once. I just hope that they don't write off the volume potential here and do what GM has done with the Corvette, which IMO is to kill any chance gaining longer term acceptance in the UK market by seeking the best possible margin on very few sales.
Well...it's $99,900 now. At $77,000, there would be plenty of buyers and Lotus could make inroads on Porsche. At $99,900, they've just lost half of their potentials sales--maybe it doesn't matter?
https://www.lotuscars.com/en-US/emira
https://www.lotuscars.com/en-US/emira
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