Lucid Motors Will Produce Fewer Cars Than Expected

Lucid Motors, a fledgling maker of electrical vehicles, on Monday considerably scaled again its manufacturing objectives for the yr, citing provide chain issues.

The corporate disclosed the brand new targets as a part of its 2021 earnings report and can more than likely disappoint buyers who had seen the corporate as a critical challenger to Tesla. Lucid shares fell in after-hours buying and selling.

Lucid mentioned it anticipated to provide 12,000 to 14,000 automobiles this yr at its manufacturing facility in Arizona, down from the 20,000 that its chief govt, Peter Rawlinson, a former Tesla engineer, set as a aim final November.

Lucid mentioned that 25,000 prospects had positioned reservations for its vehicles, which might translate into $2.4 billion in gross sales. To date the corporate has delivered about 300 automobiles.

The corporate reported a lack of $1 billion for the three months via December, in contrast with a lack of $311 million a yr earlier. Gross sales had been $26.4 million, in contrast with $3.6 million within the fourth quarter of 2020. Lucid mentioned it had $6.2 billion in money on the finish of 2021, and likewise introduced plans to construct a second manufacturing facility, in Saudi Arabia. The oil kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund is likely one of the largest buyers in Lucid.

“We stay assured in our capability to seize the great alternatives forward given our know-how management and robust demand for our vehicles,” Mr. Rawlinson mentioned in a press release.

Lucid’s first automotive, the $169,000 Lucid Air Dream Version sedan, received reward for its workmanship and the power to journey a file 520 miles on a single cost. MotorTrend journal declared it the automotive of the yr. The corporate’s inventory surged final fall as inventory market buyers turned more and more enthusiastic concerning the prospects for electrical vehicles.

However the shares have slumped since peaking in November as buyers waited to see if Lucid may make automobiles in giant numbers and turn out to be a critical challenger to Tesla, which practically doubled its world gross sales in 2021.

The leap from prototype to mass manufacturing has been troublesome for different start-ups, too. Shares of Rivian, a maker of electrical pickup vehicles that additionally obtained rave critiques, have plummeted after the corporate didn’t to satisfy a modest aim of manufacturing 1,200 automobiles for particular person patrons in 2021.