© Reuters. Lucid (LCID) sinks as deliveries fall short of expectations amid demand concerns
Shares of American luxury EV startup Lucid (NASDAQ:) fell more than 10% in early trading Wednesday after the automaker revealed that the company had delivered 1,404 of its Air sedans to customers in the second quarter.
Lucid’s second quarter deliveries compare with 1,406 deliveries in the first quarter of 2023 and 679 in the second quarter of 2022. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had anticipated around 2,000 Airs to be delivered by Lucid during the second quarter.
The Saudi Arabia-backed startup has been struggling to ramp up production as supply chain issues continue to persist. At the same time, a price war started by market leader Tesla (NASDAQ:) in January has intensified competition.
Lucid’s Air luxury sedans start at $87,400, putting them in direct competition with Tesla’s Model S at $88,490.
Additionally, Lucid has faced financial constraints, grappling with a cash shortage. In May, the company revealed plans to raise around $3 billion through a stock offering. Notably, the largest contributor to this offering would be Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, providing nearly two-thirds of the total amount.
During its first-quarter earnings report on May 8, Lucid announced that it expects to produce “over 10,000” vehicles in 2023. Additionally, the company assured stakeholders that it had enough cash on hand to continue operations until at least the second quarter of 2024.
Lucid will report its second-quarter results after the U.S. markets close on Aug. 7.
Shares of LCID are down 11.52% in morning trading on Wednesday.
