Lucid Motors Achieves New Delivery Record Amid Quest for More EV Buyers

Lucid Motors achieved a new milestone in the first quarter of 2024 by delivering 1,967 electric vehicles (EVs), marking its highest quarterly delivery figure to date. However, this record was achieved by a narrow margin, with just a few more vehicles delivered compared to the previous record set in the fourth quarter of 2022 when it delivered 1,932 units.

Despite the delivery record, Lucid faces challenges in sustaining demand for its luxury sedan, the Air. With production limited to 1,728 sedans in the first quarter, the company needs to increase production significantly in the coming quarters to meet its target of manufacturing 9,000 EVs for the year.

To address the demand issue, Lucid is implementing various strategies, including offering discounts, ramping up marketing efforts, and introducing a more affordable trim of the Air. Additionally, the company is awaiting the start of production for its upcoming Gravity SUV, which is expected to provide a boost once available.

In the meantime, Lucid secured an additional $1 billion in funding from Saudi Arabia to support its operations. Despite these efforts, the company continues to operate at a loss, emphasizing the importance of successfully executing its production and sales strategies in the coming months.

In the first quarter of 2024, Rivian faced similar challenges as Lucid, with production and delivery figures remaining relatively flat compared to the previous quarter. Both companies are navigating a competitive landscape in the electric vehicle market, where Tesla’s aggressive pricing strategies and traditional automakers’ scaled-back electric vehicle plans pose significant challenges.

While Lucid achieved a new delivery record in the first quarter, it did not disclose how many of these deliveries were for its most affordable version of the Air sedan, which it began shipping late last year. Additionally, Lucid previously announced plans to ship vehicles to Saudi Arabia for final assembly as part of a larger strategy to sell up to 100,000 vehicles to its majority owner. However, the company has not provided specific details on the number of Air sedans delivered to the Kingdom thus far. Furthermore, until a full production plant is operational in Saudi Arabia in the coming years, Lucid’s assembly capacity in the region is limited to a maximum of 5,000 vehicles.