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Luxury EV automaker and supposed Tesla rival, Lucid stated on Thursday it produced 7,180 of its luxury Air sedans in 2022, exceeding its previously lowered guidance for the year. Lucid adjusted its guidance in the fall, stating it would produce 6,000 to 7,000 vehicles in 2022. Shares popped more than 6% immediately following the news before settling. Shares are now up 2.33% to $8.12.
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Lucid had originally expected to build 20,000 of its Air electric luxury sedans in 2022, but it was forced to lower that target twice – once in February amid global supply chain disruptions, and again in August, when it cited those logistics challenges.
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The year 2023 will be crucial for the future of Lucid, especially as the company has started deliveries in Europe (in December) and adds new versions of the Lucid Air model in North America. On the horizon, there is also a new model – Gravity SUV. The number of reservations for Lucid electric cars, as of November 7, 2022, was over 34,000.
Why it matters
Lucid’s win comes after a year of supply chain challenges that forced it to slash its annual production guidance twice last year. Lucid initially planned to produce 20,000 luxury Air sedans at a factory in Casa Grande, Arizona. In February, the company lowered that guidance to 12,000 to 14,000 vehicles. The Tesla rival also recently locked up an agreement with Panasonic to supply lithium-ion batteries to power its fleet as the Japanese company seeks to expand its customer. Nearly all of Panasonic's automotive battery production currently goes to Tesla as the leading U.S. EV maker rapidly expands output.
