Lotus on reduced hours.

General General Lotus Talk
1

Lotus forced to cut working hours

14 February 2006 09:55

Workers at Norfolk car maker Group Lotus are being put on a short term week after a slowdown in demand for the Elise in the United States.

Assembly line workers at the Hethel firm will still be paid a full week’s wages, but required to work fewer hours for 12 weeks.

The hours not worked will be banked and staff will then be required to work longer when demand picks up.

Lotus has about 800 workers in its manufacturing division, but has yet to decide which staff will be affected.

The slowdown, which begins on February 27, will also enable the assembly line to be adjusted to cater for the latest Lotus model, the Europa, which is due to be launched at the Geneva Motor Show at the end of this month.

When Lotus launched the Elise in the US in 2004 the company had a large waiting list, but orders have fallen over the past year.

Lotus spokesman Alistair Florance said: �We have also been busy stocking our dealers in the US.

�We now need to scale back what we are producing for a time. The slowdown will allow us to reconfigure the assembly line for the production of the Europa, which begins in about two months’ time.

�It is a sensible arrangement as our cars are, to an extent, seasonable products with production peaks. As well as the Europa, which we believe will deliver good sales later in the year, we have just been granted the go-ahead to enter the Canadian market and that will mean more sales later in the year.�

In June 2004 the Evening News reported that demand for the American version of the Elise had led Lotus to create 30 new jobs in Norfolk at the company’s fabrication factory in Vulcan Road, Norwich, and at the Hethel plant.

The car had been launched in the States at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January that year to rave reviews and caused a rush of buyers. At that time the company said it was expecting a demand of 2,000 cars per year.

Cool, hopefully they can finish my seats quicker.

2

The market over here in the US is now flooded with “slightly used” Elise’s and load of “left over” 05’s still sitting on show room floors.
Why buy new when you can get one with 2k on the clock for 7-8 thousand US dollars less?
I hope thing pick up for the Hethel boys, but I’m sure that they’ll roll with the punches

3

The car had been launched in the States at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January that year to rave reviews and caused a rush of buyers. At that time the company said it was expecting a demand of 2,000 cars per year.

Anyone know whether they have met these sales figures?

4

Bob

Time to order your Exige S, & sell your existing car to Danny

6

�It is a sensible arrangement as our cars are, to an extent, seasonable products with production peaks. As well as the Europa, which we believe will deliver good sales later in the year especially when it’s offered with a free guide dog, we have just been granted the go-ahead to enter the Canadian market and that will mean more sales later in the year.�

7

Give them a break…threy can’t sell our type of car in the volumes required - QED enter another market

8

Give them a break…threy can’t sell our type of car in the volumes required - QED enter another market badly

9

Anyone know whether they have met these sales figures?

Anecdotal numbers for our market are ~2200-2500 cars in 2005. Initial demand was high, the enthusiasts now have their Elises, and values here have always suffered in the secondhand market.

We’re expecting ~300-350 2006 Exiges and while the majority were customer ordered, several have turned up that weren’t. (I’ve refused two, preferring to wait for mine to be built this month.)

The (bumper) exemption ends in 2007 and rumor has been that the car will be modified to meet our requirements rather than an extension applied for. (Modifications are rumored to be internal, no significant change to cosmetics.)

Lotus does no advertising here so outside of enthusiasts, (and new enthusiasts created by the automotive press), they aren’t exactly expanding their market here.

10

The (bumper) exemption ends in 2007 and rumor has been that the car will be modified to meet our requirements rather than an extension applied for. (Modifications are rumored to be internal, no significant change to cosmetics.)

Can they do that without adding weight, and will it affect the cars sold into other markets as well?

11

all they did was thicken the clam at the right bits and then a bit of padding, nothing spectacular

12

Can they do that without adding weight, and will it affect the cars sold into other markets as well?

I can’t see how they’d do it without adding at least some weight. Our requirements call for virtually no damage (including even paint) in a 2.5mph test. Of course, but they also call for a minimum height of 16 inches (40.64cm).


I’ve been told to expect the car to look no different and would guess that the extent of the modifications will determine if the rest of the world gets our “bumpers.”

One of the reasons I went ahead for a 2006 model (well, that and no hairdryer… yet).


Is there a source for the press about reduced hours? The good news is that they seem to be focusing on our Exiges and shipping them over quickly.