Lucid Group Inc. guided toward the low end of its annual production plan following a slow start the year, the latest setback for an electric-vehicle maker grappling with job losses and supply-chain snags.
(Bloomberg) — Lucid Group Inc. guided toward the low end of its annual production plan following a slow start the year, the latest setback for an electric-vehicle maker grappling with job losses and supply-chain snags.
The company is on track to make “over 10,000” of its luxury sedans this year, according to a statement Monday that also detailed first-quarter results. Lucid previously forecast building as many as 14,000.
The revised plan comes after lower-than-expected output to start the year. Lucid said last month that it made 2,314 EVs in the period, missing Wall Street’s estimates and representing a sharp decline from the prior quarter.
The shares fell 8.6% as of 4:21 p.m. after regular trading in New York. The stock fell 58% over the past 12 months.
Lucid is trying to break out from a crowd of would-be Tesla Inc. competitors and firmly establish itself in the EV market. Peter Rawlinson, Lucid’s chief executive officer, has said his company has struggled with name recognition, and expanding awareness of the brand is a top priority.
Lucid, whose Air sedan starts around $87,000 and goes well into six figures depending on features, has had a rocky stretch recently. The company said in a March filing that it would eliminate 18% of its workforce, or about 1,300 positions, as part of a cost-cutting plan. Last month its preliminary first-quarter deliveries missed analysts’ estimates.
The Newark, California-based company lost 43 cents a share in the first quarter, according to the statement, slightly worse than analysts’ estimates. Revenue was $149.4 million, also short of the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Saudia Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s main sovereign wealth fund, is Lucid’s single-largest shareholder. The PIF held about 60% of Lucid’s shares outstanding as of the end of the fourth quarter, according to data tracked by Bloomberg.
–With assistance from Ed Ludlow.
(Updates with earnings results in final paragraph)
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