Lucid slashes 2022 production forecast after rough second quarter

Lucid Motors slashed its production forecast for the year in half to between 6,000 and 7,000 units of its Air electric sedan after a difficult second quarter due to supply chain issues, the company said after market close Wednesday.

Lucid delivered 679 vehicles in the second quarter. First-quarter deliveries were 360. Production out of its Arizona factory for the first half of the year was 1,405 vehicles, the company said in a press release.

"Our revised production guidance reflects the extraordinary supply chain and logistics challenges we encountered," said CEO Peter Rawlinson. "We've identified the primary bottlenecks, and we are taking appropriate measures — bringing our logistics operations in-house, adding key hires to the executive team, and restructuring our logistics and manufacturing organization."

Lucid continues to see strong demand for the Air, which ranges from $89,050 for the Pure trim, including shipping, to $180,650 for the Grand Touring Performance. Rawlinson said the automaker has over 37,000 reservations.

"I remain confident that we shall overcome these near-term challenges," the CEO added.

The weak production led Lucid to miss sales estimates, Bloomberg reported. Lucid pulled in just $97.3 million in revenue, well below the $147.5 million consensus compiled by Bloomberg. Its adjusted loss of $414.1 million, leaving out items including interest and taxes, compared with an average estimate of $410.7 million.

Lucid also said it ended the quarter with $4.6 billion in cash, cash equivalents and investments, “which is expected to fund the company well into 2023.”

Lucid shares fell in after-market trading Wednesday by about 10 percent.

In February, the Newark, Calif., startup reduced its forecast for 2022 production to a range of 12,000 to 14,000 vehicles — down 30 to 40 percent from its initial estimates of 20,000.

Lucid also announced the appointment of Steven David as senior vice president of operations, which it described as a new role in the company. David will oversee supply chain, logistics, manufacturing and quality, Lucid said. He most recently worked as head of component operations at Stellantis in Auburn Hills.