Lucid cuts electric car prices but posts higher revenue

Lucid

• Prices cut by up to 10%
• Q1 revenue $170 million
• PIF major investor in Lucid

Saudi-backed US electric vehicle maker Lucid reported first-quarter revenue above analysts’ estimates this week as it sets to produce more cars this year but selling at cheaper prices to spur sales. 

The Nasdaq-listed EV company had cut prices of its flagship Air sedans in February by up to 10 percent, as customers globally began to turn to less expensive hybrid cars because of high interest rates.

The company reported first-quarter deliveries above market expectations last month as a result of the lower prices. This was despite rival Tesla reporting its first fall in quarterly deliveries in nearly four years. 

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Revenue for the first quarter was $173 million on sales of almost 2,000 vehicles but with a net loss of $685 million, below a $779 million loss the year before. Lucid said it was on track to produce 9,000 cars this year, compared with 8,428 last year.

It will start production of a more affordable midsize car in late 2026 to attract a larger customer base. 

In Q1 Lucid raised $1 billion in financing via a private placement to an affiliate of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, reflecting PIF’s support for the company. 

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PIF has invested billions in the California- and Arizona-based company as part of a strategy to diversify the kingdom’s economy beyond oil and boost green industries. 

In Saudi Arabia, imports of electric vehicles rose sharply in 2023, but to a total of just 779 EVs, despite government hopes that it can become a green economy leader through the manufacture and use of electric cars. 

The kingdom imported only 210 EVs in 2022, showing the mountain it has to climb to realise ambitions set out in its Vision 2030 economic transformation plan.

On May 2 Lucid signed a memorandum of understanding with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology to boost EV technology’s adaptability to the tough Gulf climate and encourage more use.