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The Hethel-based car manufacturer has temporarily paused production of its Emira sports cars after announcing this week that new models will replace its first editions.

It comes after Lotus finally received US emissions certification to sell its Emira sports cars across the Atlantic.

Emira was first announced for the US market in 2021, but despite hundreds being shipped to the country they had been stuck at dealerships as Lotus awaited certification by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) – the emissions approval needed in 14 states.

For the past fortnight, it is understood that Lotus staff have been sent home from the Hethel factory as production is suspended. 

Staff have been sent home from Lotus' Hethel factory while production is suspendedStaff have been sent home from Lotus’ Hethel factory while production is suspended (Image: Denise Bradley)

A Lotus spokesman said: “With the latest Emira model year now certified, Lotus Cars has temporarily paused Emira production in the factory to prepare manufacturing for this.

“During this time, the business is focused on improving production operations to restart operations at optimised efficiency.

“We are working through these updates to get full production resuming as soon as possible.”

Lotus unveiled its revised Emira line-up this week with the new Turbo SEThe 10,000th Emira recently rolled off Lotus’ Hethel production line (Image: Lotus)

Last November, Lotus announced it was making 200 redundancies – cutting jobs for the third time in 18 months.

READ MORE: Lotus to cut 200 jobs in latest round of redundancies

The firm axed around 100 jobs in July 2023, followed by another round of redundancies in January last year.

Lotus unveiled its revamped Emira line-up on Tuesday (March 4), which includes the more powerful Emira Turbo SE alongside the Emira V6.

Lotus unveiled its revised Emira line-up this week with the new Turbo SELotus unveiled its revised Emira line-up this week with the new Turbo SE (Image: Lotus) Starting from £89,500, Lotus says Emira is the world’s fastest four-cylinder sports car going from zero to 62mph in four seconds and reaching a top speed of 182mph.

READ MORE: Norfolk firm reveals plans to triple in size as part of £5m expansion

The 10,000th Emira recently rolled off Lotus’ Hethel production line. 

The company, which is now owned by Chinese firm Geely, said it does not anticipate any delays for customers who have ordered Emira sports cars.

Lotus' revised Emira line-up with the all-new Turbo SELotus’ revised Emira line-up with the all-new Turbo SE (Image: Lotus) Hethel has been the home of Lotus since 1966. 

Its capacity is now around 5,000 cars a year, compared with around 1,500 units annually a decade ago.

Lotus spent £100m on the factory in 2021 and has also invested more than £500m into technology and infrastructure over the past six years to go all electric by 2028. 





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