August 19, 2023, Lucid showroom in New York City.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Luxury electric car maker Lucid Group said on Tuesday it delivered 1,457 Air sedans to customers in the third quarter, a figure unlikely to reassure investors worried about demand for the luxurious and expensive electric car.
The company’s shares fell about 6% in early trading.
Analysts polled by FactSet had expected Lucid to deliver about 2,000 vehicles in the third quarter.
Lucid’s third-quarter deliveries compare to 1,404 vehicles delivered in the second quarter of 2022 and 1,398 vehicles delivered in the third quarter.
company explain During this period, the company has produced 1,550 Airs, with “more than 700” vehicles on their way to a new factory in Saudi Arabia for final assembly. By comparison, 2,173 Airs were produced in the second quarter and 2,282 in the same period last year.
The government of Saudi Arabia, Lucid’s main investor, agreed last year to buy at least 50,000 Lucid electric vehicles over the next 10 years, with the option to buy up to 50,000 more. Deliveries are expected to begin before the end of 2023.
Lucid’s stock price fell nearly 23% from the start of 2023 to Monday’s close amid lingering concerns about continued demand for the Air. While the Air has been well-received and has arguably the longest range of any current electric vehicle in the U.S., it’s expensive: The Air’s cheapest model, the Pure, which is a new single-motor version, starts at $77,400 , with a cruising range of 410 miles. The high-end version, the 1,234-horsepower Sapphire version, is priced at $249,000.
Lucid did not provide an update on full-year production guidance. The company has previously told investors it expects to produce “more than 10,000” vehicles in 2023, guidance first provided in May and reiterated in August. Lucid had produced 6,037 electric vehicles in 2023 through the end of September, excluding vehicles shipped to Saudi Arabia at the end of the quarter.
Lucid had $6.25 billion in available liquidity at the end of the second quarter, including $5.5 billion in cash and remaining available credit lines, which Chief Financial Officer Sherry House said at the time was enough to fund the company through 2025.
Lucid will announce third-quarter results on November 7 after the U.S. stock market closes.
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