Luxury electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Group reported on Tuesday that it delivered 1,457 of its Air sedans in the third quarter of 2023.
The number falls short of the approximately 2,000 vehicles analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to deliver for the period. Shares of Lucid Group are currently down 4.5% on Tuesday.
The third-quarter delivery figure is a slight increase from the 1,404 vehicles delivered in the second quarter and 1,398 delivered in the third quarter of 2022. Lucid produced 1,550 Air sedans during the third quarter, with over 700 additional vehicles in transit to a new facility in Saudi Arabia for final assembly. This compares to 2,173 Airs produced in the second quarter and 2,282 produced a year earlier.
Saudi Arabia’s government, a significant investor in Lucid, agreed in the previous year to purchase at least 50,000 Lucid electric vehicles over the next decade, with an option for 50,000 more. Deliveries to Saudi Arabia are expected to commence before the end of 2023.
Lucid’s stock has declined nearly 23% from the beginning of 2023 through Monday’s close, amid lingering concerns about the demand for the Air sedan. The vehicle, while receiving strong reviews and boasting the longest range among current U.S. electric vehicles, carries a high price tag. The least expensive model starts at $77,400, while the high-end Sapphire version is priced at an eye-popping $249,000 USD.
The company did not update its full-year production guidance, which remains at “over 10,000” vehicles for 2023. As of the end of September, Lucid has produced 6,037 electric vehicles this year, not including those in transit to Saudi Arabia.
Lucid had $6.25 billion in available liquidity as of the end of the second quarter, including $5.5 billion in cash. Chief Financial Officer Sherry House stated that this amount is sufficient to fund the company into 2025.
TESLA KILLER LUCIDāS CAR PRODUCTION OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS
Q4 2022 -> 3,493
Q1 2023 -> 2,314 š
Q2 2023 -> 2,173 š
Q3 2023 -> 1,550 šSOMEONE TELL LUCID THE NUMBER SHOULD BE GOING UP NOT GOING DOWN EVERY SINGLE QUARTER $LCID pic.twitter.com/dDrsdXp59V
— GURGAVIN (@gurgavin) October 17, 2023
Lucid is scheduled to report its complete third-quarter financial results on November 7, after U.S. markets close. It remains to be seen if Lucid can ramp up its production because right now it’s not able to make cars like it has promised.
