Should we be worried about Lotus ?

[Jon39]

I have never been a Lotus car owner, but have taken an interest in the marque for a long time.

The monthly UK car registration figures for January 2019, showed only 7 new Lotus cars.
February 2019 shows zero.

Is there a reason for such a low level of UK sales?

[CTE]

I think you will find all manufacturers are struggling with new car sales right now. One of my close friends is a regional sales manager for one of the main stream manufacturers and they`ve sold very few new cars this year...but second hand sales are stronger. I guess the scares/concerns about diesel viability and Brexit are making buyers more cautious about throwing money away on depreciation the minute you roll your new car out of the forecourt?

[Composite Guru]

Probably because the average car enthusiast wants all the bells and whistles on the car. That's not something that is in the Lotus ethos. That's why their market place is so small.

I wanted a car without all the electronic rubbish on it but handled really well. I ended up buying an Elise Cup in the end.

If you want a sports car that is over refined and drives itself for you then you tend to go and buy a Porsche. Anything else and you go and buy one of these hideous overpowered SUV things.

I just hope Lotus stick to their guns and keep their cars simplified and just stick with trick mechanical stuff to make the drive better. I would hate them to follow the sheep and just start churning out lots of generic garbage just to pull more customers in.

[ads v6]

Jan / Feb are the wrong time of year to be buying a sports car so probably waiting till its better weather plus the new registrations come out on the 1st March.

[chemistry]

Apparently 2018 was a record year.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/uk.motor1.com/news/...

Jan/Feb are bound to be slow months for sports car sales.

I’ve just bought a new 19 plate Elise - pick it up in a week - so I’m doing my bit

[Frimley111R]

Don't forget that they are global company and not reliant on the UK market. The cars all have premium pricing and have been around in one form or another for many years now. They're a fairly tough sale for dealerships I imagine. However, in new markets they are...well...new and so easier to sell.

Given that they now have multiple BILLIONS to spend on development it seems hard to see anything but a seriously strong growth strategy.

[Batwing 7]

I'm not sure there has ever been a time we shouldn't have been worried about Lotus! They've sailed close to the wind since day one....

[lotuslover69]

Jon39 said:

I have never been a Lotus car owner, but have taken an interest in the marque for a long time.

The monthly UK car registration figures for January 2019, showed only 7 new Lotus cars.
February 2019 shows zero.

Is there a reason for such a low level of UK sales?

Unlike the vast majority of sports car manufacturers Lotus has never gone bankrupt and closed its doors for any length of time. They have always found a way to carry on and build exceptional cars on a shoe string budget. The fact that they can build sports cars that handle and drive better than some super cars signifies to me that when the time comes for them to build an actual supercar with a decent amount of money behind them it will be a winner.

Even if Lotus was to go bankrupt and close it's doors, the heritage alone guarantees some manufacturer would take over in some form or another Lotus will always be there.

Lotus at one time was going to buy Aston Martin but decided against it due to the archaic conditions of the Aston Martin factory, straw on the floor and guys using English wheels. Now look at Aston Martin.

Lotus is one of a handful of car companies that has never produced a bad road car. They have all been fun to drive and enjoyable. Lotus has been constantly innovating from the glass fibre Monocoque of its first production car the elite, right up until the APX modular chassis system of the Evora.

Edited by lotuslover69 on Monday 25th March 15:14