The industry has certainly been living in “interesting times” recently, as the expression goes. In many cases, that means not just unsettled but tough times, doubly so for fledgling companies trying to establish themselves. Take Lucid Motors, which is facing the same component shortages as other manufacturers as it tries to make its mark with its first model, the all-electric Air sedan.
The company has made some decisions as a consequence, designed to help it get through the current “interesting times” in one piece, as reported by Automotive News and Reuters.
During the first quarter of the year, only 360 Lucid Air were delivered, which is not very many. The company reported an operating loss of $598 million for the same period on revenues of $57.6 million. Due to a $523 million improvement in the value of its common stock, Lucid's net loss was only 81.3 million. It was $2.9 billion in the same quarter last year.
Nevertheless, the company announced that it will increase the price of its vehicles next month. The news is likely to make waves, but fortunately, reservation holders will not be affected. We're still talking about 30,000 buyers, which is the number in the company's order book.
Of course, it’s obvious the company will never be able to meet the demand if it only delivers 386 vehicles per quarter. Again, there is hope on the horizon, as despite a difficult start to the year, CEO Peter Rawlinson said that in April alone, 300 models had been delivered. Production is picking up, then. In all, 700 models were produced from January to March. Lucid Motors still expects to assemble between 12,000 and 14,000 vehicles this year.
And the other good news for Lucid is that CFO Sherry House confirmed that the company's $5.4 billion in available cash will allow it to execute its expansion plans through 2023. These include the launch of more affordable versions of the Air sedan, as well as the launch of the Gravity SUV in 2024.
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Pricing
The price increases will come into effect on June 1. Those interested can book at the current price until then. In the U.S., the price of a Grand Touring version will rise from $139,000 to $154,000. For the less expensive models to come, the Air Touring model is expected to cost $107,400, up from $95,000 right now. The entry-level Pure variant will see its bill rise from $77,400 to $87,400.
These U.S. prices are just to give an idea of what Canadians can expect. On Lucid's website, the base model is currently listed at $107,300 CAD, with the Grand Touring version at $191,300. That's bound to change, of course.
“Similar to many companies in our industry, we continue to face global supply chain and logistics challenges, including COVID-related factory shutdowns in China,” said Sherry House.
It will be interesting to see how consumers react, because when Rivian announced price increases earlier this year, the outcry was so strong that it forced the company to back down.