With 1,050 horsepower, the latest Grand Touring Performance Edition becomes Lucid’s strongest version of the Air electric sedan.
Conscious engines
Manufacturer of luxury electric vehicles Conscious Group late Thursday said it produced 2,314 Air sedans in the first quarter. But it surely delivered just 1,406 Air planes to customers during that period, one other sign the company is seeing weaker-than-expected demand.
Wall Street analysts polled by FactSet expected Lucid to deliver about 2,000 Airs in the first quarter. Lucid shares fell greater than 3% in after-hours trading after the news.
Lucid surprised Wall Street in February when it said it planned to construct just 10,000 to 14,000 Airs in 2023, despite having “greater than 28,000” bookings. At the time, CEO Peter Rawlinson said he believed “too few people are aware” of the company and its award-winning but expensive electric sedan – a sign that the company can have struggled to turn bookings into sold orders.
One other indication that demand for the Air may be weak got here in late March when Lucid laid off 1,300 staff, or about 18% of its workforce. The corporate is predicted to incur a one-time fee of between $24 million and $30 million for these layoffs, most of it in the first quarter.
Lucid said Thursday it is going to release its first-quarter results after the US markets close on May 8.