Luxury electric vehicle startup Lucid Group Inc (NASDAQ:LCID) on Monday significantly lowered production targets for this year, citing extraordinary supply chain and logistics challenges.
What Happened: The recently-listed electric vehicle maker, which has a manufacturing facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, said it now expects to produce between 12,000 to 14,000 Lucid Air models this year, much below the 20,000 units that it had forecast earlier.
Lucid reported its second financial results as a public company on Monday after the closing bell and said it ended the year with about $6.2 billion in cash.
The company reported a wider loss of $1.05 billion for the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, compared with a loss of $311.28 million a year ago.
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Lucid said it has secured over 25,000 reservations, reflecting potential sales of more than $2.4 billion.
The electric vehicle startup said it has produced only 400 electric vehicles to date, much below its previously estimated forecast of 577 units in 2021.
Lucid’s Air entry-level sedan is priced at $77,400, excluding an up to $7,500 federal tax credit for plug-in vehicles, while its Dream edition variant is sold at $169,000 and has a 520-mile range, outdistancing Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) models.
Saudi Arabia Foray: The EV maker on Monday confirmed plans to build a new manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia.
The company said it plans to begin construction later this year and aims to make up to 150,000 vehicles a year at the new facility.
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Lucid counts Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, as its major shareholder.
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson said last year that he sees Saudi Arabia as the second-biggest market for luxury electric cars in terms of pre-orders.
Why It Matters: Lucid is among a dozen electric vehicle startups that have taken the SPAC route to go public and secured rich valuations despite low or zero production at the time of listing.
Electric vehicle rival Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) fell short of its target of making 1,200 electric vehicles in 2021.
Rawlinson, who was previously chief engineer on Tesla's Model S, confirmed plans to “expand our footprint in Europe and the Middle East" and added that "a later expansion into the Asia Pacific” is in the cards.
Price Action: Lucid stock closed about 10% higher at $28.98 on Monday, and shares were down about 12% in pre-market trading on Tuesday.
Photo: Courtesy of lucidmotors.com
