Lotus Future Now Secured
Discussion
According to this weeks Autocar that is. They report that DRB have now signed off a new 3 year plan and promise further investment on top of the £100m they have put into Group Lotus since acquiring Proton. Not much new news per se but it does sound a bit more official this time, coming as it does from a statement by DRB's Managing Director. He talks about having 'fixed' costs, quality, planning etc. and is now ready to grow the company. Sales were 70 cars to the end of May against 80 for the whole of last year. Production is now ramping up to 40 cars/month with 85% for export.
He reiterates their commitment to further variants of the current platform but 'speculation continues' about the Esprit programme being resurrected for not much money as it was close to completion when DRB took over. We live in hope.
He reiterates their commitment to further variants of the current platform but 'speculation continues' about the Esprit programme being resurrected for not much money as it was close to completion when DRB took over. We live in hope.
I was at the factory last week (Wednesday 10th) for the regular 2-hour tour hosted by the very urbane Lotus advocate gentleman himself, Richard Parramint. Great fun and hugely informative.
The annual August closedown for summer holidays is just around the corner and the target for the day was 11 cars off the line. And this was entirely believable given the number of cars right at the end of the line, funnily enough all waiting on window seals which they had run out of. That's Just In Time Manufacturing for you. I reckon there were at least some 2 dozen or so cars awaiting transport outside uncovered, all bound for China, a lot of which were white Evoras. And we were told there were other cars in covered storage too.
Production has certainly ramped up recently and I was left with the impression that quality control has improved and is DRB's primary focus. It was a very busy morning in the factory that morning.
The annual August closedown for summer holidays is just around the corner and the target for the day was 11 cars off the line. And this was entirely believable given the number of cars right at the end of the line, funnily enough all waiting on window seals which they had run out of. That's Just In Time Manufacturing for you. I reckon there were at least some 2 dozen or so cars awaiting transport outside uncovered, all bound for China, a lot of which were white Evoras. And we were told there were other cars in covered storage too.
Production has certainly ramped up recently and I was left with the impression that quality control has improved and is DRB's primary focus. It was a very busy morning in the factory that morning.
Article now online - http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/lotus-s...
That's great news for Lotus.
There was a snippet in this month's Evo which was covering car sales generally. It stated that total sales in Europe were at a 20 year low for all car companies combined, for the 5 months to May. It claimed that in 2013 Lotus sold 17 Elises and 11 Evoras in Europe in total, which therefore implies that sales elsewhere and in The Far East in particular have been very strong for Lotus.
If Lotus is starting to build momentum in China, this can only be good news long term, given the potential market size. Wouldn't be surprised if we start to see some special editions solely for the Chinese market in the next couple of years.
Would also be fascinated to see what the order book looks like for the Exige Coupe and Roadster, given the excellent reviews these cars have received.
There was a snippet in this month's Evo which was covering car sales generally. It stated that total sales in Europe were at a 20 year low for all car companies combined, for the 5 months to May. It claimed that in 2013 Lotus sold 17 Elises and 11 Evoras in Europe in total, which therefore implies that sales elsewhere and in The Far East in particular have been very strong for Lotus.
If Lotus is starting to build momentum in China, this can only be good news long term, given the potential market size. Wouldn't be surprised if we start to see some special editions solely for the Chinese market in the next couple of years.
Would also be fascinated to see what the order book looks like for the Exige Coupe and Roadster, given the excellent reviews these cars have received.
It is indeed good to see a real chance that UK manufacturing jobs may be secured. However my experience over many years of business has suggested to me that without a real powerhouse of an individual driving the direction and focus of the company this is not in itself a guarantee of success.
Specialist sports car manufacturers are a very risky area of business. Without a Colin Chapman or something of his like to drive the business on through thick and thin the long term future must be open to question. At least now there is a chance.
Specialist sports car manufacturers are a very risky area of business. Without a Colin Chapman or something of his like to drive the business on through thick and thin the long term future must be open to question. At least now there is a chance.
Hellers said:
I was at the factory last week (Wednesday 10th) for the regular 2-hour tour hosted by the very urbane Lotus advocate gentleman himself, Richard Parramint. Great fun and hugely informative.
The annual August closedown for summer holidays is just around the corner and the target for the day was 11 cars off the line. And this was entirely believable given the number of cars right at the end of the line, funnily enough all waiting on window seals which they had run out of. That's Just In Time Manufacturing for you. I reckon there were at least some 2 dozen or so cars awaiting transport outside uncovered, all bound for China, a lot of which were white Evoras. And we were told there were other cars in covered storage too.
Production has certainly ramped up recently and I was left with the impression that quality control has improved and is DRB's primary focus. It was a very busy morning in the factory that morning.
Alomost identical to my visit in April (barring the window seal issue!) Still think the industry is living in the dark ages when it closes down for summer. I bet the Japs/Korean/Chinese don't!The annual August closedown for summer holidays is just around the corner and the target for the day was 11 cars off the line. And this was entirely believable given the number of cars right at the end of the line, funnily enough all waiting on window seals which they had run out of. That's Just In Time Manufacturing for you. I reckon there were at least some 2 dozen or so cars awaiting transport outside uncovered, all bound for China, a lot of which were white Evoras. And we were told there were other cars in covered storage too.
Production has certainly ramped up recently and I was left with the impression that quality control has improved and is DRB's primary focus. It was a very busy morning in the factory that morning.
fatbutt said:
Esprit is dead 
http://jalopnik.com/lotus-cancels-the-esprit-and-d...
Or not?http://jalopnik.com/lotus-cancels-the-esprit-and-d..."However, speculation continues that the Esprit project was close to fruition when DRB took over and that it could be revived at relatively little cost."
fatbutt said:
Esprit is dead http://jalopnik.com/lotus-cancels-the-esprit-and-d...
He's made the same claim before, I'm not sure if there's any new evidence that's emerged. Clearly it was on the line when DRB took over, and if you call if often enough you might turn out to be right.http://jalopnik.com/lotus-cancels-the-esprit-and-d...To be honest, they need to do the walk before run thing. Get the Exige roadster sorted, do a convertible Evora, sell cars and build some sort of reputation for stability. It'll be years yet before the ghost of Bahar is excised, and against the backdrop of the Mclaren and Ferrari, any new Esprit is going to have to be astonishingly good to stand a chance.
It'd be nice if the project was close enough to get to completion, it'd be nice if it was as great handling as the Evora. It'd be nice if it undercut the competition by a good margin. But it'd still have to out perform and out handle them to be considered competitive. I could believe the handling part, but getting the power plant right is a hell of a challenge when you've been on the back foot as long as they have.
So I'd rather they brought the Esprit back when they're good and ready and have a business people can believe in.
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