Lucid Increases E.V. Production but Still Faces Challenges

Lucid, an electric-vehicle maker that has struggled to ramp up manufacturing, stated Wednesday that it will meet its scaled-back manufacturing targets for the yr after producing 2,300 automobiles within the third quarter.

The corporate, primarily based in Newark, Calif., stated final yr that it aimed to provide 20,000 automobiles in 2022, however repeatedly lowered that determine after working into issues securing crucial elements. In August, Lucid stated it will produce 6,000 to 7,000 of its battery-powered sedans this yr, a aim that the corporate now expects to fulfill.

“Lucid believes it’s on monitor to ship on its beforehand offered 6,000 to 7,000 automobile manufacturing steering for full yr 2022,” the corporate stated in a press release. Lucid stated it delivered 1,400 automobiles to clients in the course of the quarter, about twice as many as within the earlier quarter.

Electrical-vehicle start-ups like Lucid and Rivian have been anticipated to problem the dominance of the normal automobile corporations with fashionable, high-performance merchandise, however have had issues making sufficient automobiles to realize important market share.

Rivian, which makes electrical pickup vehicles, stated final week that it was recalling nearly the entire automobiles it has produced up to now as a result of a small quantity have an improperly tightened fastener that might trigger the steering to malfunction.

The window for fledgling automakers is closing as Ford Motor, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Basic Motors and different established carmakers introduce electrical automobiles which were well-liked with consumers. These corporations can draw on many years of producing expertise and established networks of factories and suppliers.

Traders have soured on the fledgling carmakers, making it more durable for them to lift money by promoting shares. Rising rates of interest will make it costlier for them to borrow cash or concern debt. Lucid shares closed at $13.09 on Wednesday, up 3.5 p.c on the day however down from a peak of $55 final yr.

Whereas the manufacturing figures are excellent news for Lucid, the corporate “continues to be nowhere close to producing at a scale” that may generate sufficient income to cowl its prices, Garrett Nelson, vp at CFRA Analysis, stated in a be aware.