Visitors walk through Lucid Air at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023, the telecom industry’s largest annual event, on February 28, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain.
Chris Jung | Noor Photos | Getty Images
Luxury electric car maker Lucid Group said on Wednesday it delivered 1,404 Air sedans to customers in the second quarter, a downbeat update amid demand concerns.
Lucid’s second-quarter deliveries compare to 1,406 in the first quarter of 2023 and 679 in the second quarter of 2022. Wall Street analysts polled by FactSet had expected Lucid to deliver about 2,000 Airs in the second quarter.
The company said it produced 2,173 Air units in the quarter, compared with 2,314 in the first quarter.
Shares of the company were down about 5% in premarket trading following the news.
Shares of Lucid had fallen about 58% last year through Tuesday amid growing concerns about demand for the Air luxury sedan. The Air is a well-regarded luxury sedan with the longest range of any current electric car in the U.S., but it’s expensive: While a lower-priced version is coming, the Air currently starts at $138,000 before incentives.
The company surprised Wall Street analysts in February by saying it planned to produce only 10,000 to 14,000 Air units in 2023 despite having “over 28,000” reservations on hand. At the time, CEO Peter Rawlinson said the company would focus on marketing in 2023, suggesting it may have been struggling to convert those reservations into sold orders.
In another sign of trouble, Lucid cut about 18% of its workforce, or roughly 1,300 employees, at the end of March.
However, not all news is bad news. Lucid said on June 26 that it had reached a supply agreement Aston Martin Lagonda Possess electric vehicle powertrain, battery system and related technologies. In return, Lucid will receive staged payments totaling approximately $232 million and a 3.7 percent stake in the legendary British supercar maker.
Both Aston Martin and Lucid count Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund as an investor.
In its first-quarter earnings report on May 8, Lucid said it expects to produce “more than 10,000” vehicles in 2023 and has enough cash on hand to last at least through the second quarter of 2024. An additional US$3 billion will be added by the end of May.
Lucid will report its second-quarter results on Aug. 7 after U.S. markets close.
Svlook
