Lucid increases its EV costs as the organization keeps on battling with production

Lucid Motors is increasing the costs of its luxury electric vehicles, as the organization keeps on battling with production. The organization revealed delivering just 360 vehicles to clients in the first quarter of 2022. Electric luxury vehicle producer Lucid Group said Thursday it presently has above 30,000 reservations for its Air sedan — yet any customers reserving a spot after June 1 will have to pay higher costs.

Lucid said that it will honor its current pricing for any client with a current reservation, as well as any new clients who make reservations before the finish of May. From that point onward, pricing on the different Air models will hop generally 10% to 12%, contingent upon trim level.

As of June 1st, Lucid’s recently expanded costs will be $154,000 for the Air Grand Touring (beforehand $139,000), $107,400 for Air Touring (up from $95,000), and $87,400 for Air Pure (up from $80,000). That represents an average increment of around 11%. The new Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance model reported only two weeks ago, will remain priced at $179,000. (Each of Lucid’s vehicles is qualified for the $7,500 federal EV tax credit as well as any suitable state and local incentives.)

In a call with investors, Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson said the organization would honor the original costs for existing reservation holders, addressing a key point that created a commotion when Rivian reported a comparable cost increment.

Lucid made the declarations as it announced its first-quarter results. Here are the key numbers:

• Loss per share: 5 cents
• Revenue: $57.7 million
• Net loss: $81.3 million
• Vehicles delivered in the quarter: 360
• Vehicle reservations: More than 30,000

“We continue to have a healthy balance sheet, closing the quarter with nearly $5.4 billion of cash on hand, which we believe is sufficient to fund the company well into 2023,” Chief Financial Officer Sherry House said in a statement.

“The world has changed dramatically from the time we first announced Lucid Air back in September 2020,” Rawlinson said on the call. “And I want to assure our existing reservation holders that we will be honoring current pricing for all existing customers as well as new reservations made before the end of the month. To ensure fairness and prioritization, we will be reaching out to reservation holders to facilitate order configurations to lock in pricing as their specified model becomes available.”

The organization detailed a loss of $81 million in the first quarter of 2022 on sales of $58 million. Last year, when the organization had very nearly zero revenue streaming in, Lucid revealed a loss of $2.9 billion.

Lucid additionally said the number of reservations for its luxury Lucid Air car presently surpassed 30,000, reflecting $2.9 billion in likely sales. The organization had previously said it had gotten 25,000 reservations.

Lucid has attempted to get cars off the factory floor amid supply chain woes and different interruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last quarter, the Newark, California-based organization declared it was revising its annual production expectations to 12,000 vehicles from the original prediction of 20,000 vehicles.

Rawlinson likewise promoted a 100,000 vehicle purchase agreement by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. “This is one of the single largest electric vehicle purchases that I am aware of and we are delighted to be supporting Saudi Arabia in achieving its sustainability goals and net zero ambitions by bringing our advanced luxury EVs to Saudi Arabia,” he said.

In February, Lucid cut its full-year guidance for production from 20,000 vehicles to somewhere in the range of 12,000 and 14,000 vehicles, refering to progressing challenges in getting basics like glass and carpet. The organization kept up with that decreased guidance Thursday.

Lucid started deliveries of the Air in October of 2021 to positive reviews, including Motor Trend’s sought-after Car of the Year award. Customer demand for the Air has areas of strength for been, the organization has battled to increase production amid ongoing global supply chain disruptions.

CEO Peter Rawlinson, who previously served as chief engineer of Tesla’s landmark Model S car, spent several years assembling the team that made Lucid’s Air. A mix of Tesla veterans and former big-auto engineers, the group grew new batteries and technologies that have provided the Air with the longest range of any EV sold in the United States up until this point.

Its next vehicle, a luxury SUV called Gravity, is expected in the first half of 2024, Lucid affirmed on Thursday.

The organization said last month that Saudi Arabia’s government had agreed to purchase up to 100,000 of its vehicles throughout the next 10 years. Saudi Arabia’s public wealth fund owns around 62% of the U.S.- based automaker.

Rawlinson explained during Lucid’s earnings call that the 30,000 reservations incorporate no vehicles from Saudi Arabia’s order.

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is a majority owner of Lucid, in the wake of having poured a $1 billion investment in the organization back in 2017. Lucid said it has $5.4 billion in cash reserves to keep it running through 2023.