Twenty twenty-two was a major year for Lotus, the first since replacing the Evora, Elise, and Exige with the new Emira, and the last before the introduction of the new Eletre EV SUV. Unfortunately, it was also a poor year for Lotus deliveries: According to Motor1, just 576 new Lotuses were shipped and sold last year.
That number is down from 1566 in 2021, meaning the brand delivered nearly a third as many new cars in the first year of its excellent, final gas-powered sports car as it had in the final year of its long-serving former lineup. The number is so low largely because of delays in production of the Emira, resulting from supply chain issues that the brand tied to Brexit, the war in Ukraine, and lingering impacts of COVID-19. Back in October, Lotus managing director Mark Windle suggested that the brand would build somewhere in the range of just a quarter of its planned output for 2022.
Increases in Emira production alone should solve the issue, and expected higher-volume sales of the new-for-2023 Eletre should ensure that the brand’s delivery numbers are not this low again for a very long time. Those are future solutions, though. For now, the brand is reeling after nearly $300 million of losses over two years and reportedly planning to cut 200 jobs in the near future. If the brand really wants to sell 150,000 cars a year by 2028, last year will mark its lowest point in a generation.
Keyword: Lotus Sold Just 576 Cars Last Year