In the first quarter of 2024, Lucid Motors achieved its highest-ever delivery of electric vehicles, albeit by a narrow margin.
The electric vehicle company, based in California and supported by Saudi investors, announced on Tuesday that it successfully delivered 1,967 high-end sedans during the quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the company set a previous record of 1,932 deliveries. The current number of shipments slightly exceeds that figure. The company reported manufacturing only 1,728 sedans during the first quarter. To achieve its goal of producing 9,000 electric vehicles this year, it will have to increase production in the upcoming quarters.
Lucid’s recent delivery record coincides with the company’s ongoing challenge of establishing steady demand for its high-end luxury sedan, the Air. The company anticipates a delay in commencing production of its forthcoming Gravity SUV. As a result, it intends to rely on discounts, increased marketing efforts, and the introduction of a more economical trim for the Air to maintain stability until the new model is ready for shipment. Recently, it returned to Saudi Arabia to raise an additional $1 billion to support its ongoing financial challenges.
Many other companies also face similar challenges. Rivian’s performance in the first quarter of 2024 remained consistent, with the company manufacturing and delivering a similar number of vehicles as it did in the previous quarter. These companies are striving to establish their presence in a dynamic market where Tesla has consistently reduced prices and major automakers have scaled back their ambitious plans to release a large number of all-electric vehicles.
Although Lucid achieved a significant milestone in the first quarter, it did not provide specific details regarding the number of deliveries of the more affordable version of the Air sedan, which commenced shipping in the latter part of last year. Last year, the company announced that it would start shipping the initial vehicles to Saudi Arabia for final assembly. This marked the initial phase of their strategy to potentially sell up to 100,000 vehicles to their majority owner. However, the exact number of Air sedans that have arrived in the Kingdom remains undisclosed. Until the company establishes a full production plant in the coming years, it can only assemble a maximum of 5,000 vehicles in Saudi Arabia.
