Lucid Group on Wednesday reported a sharp fall in orders in the fourth quarter after 2023 production fell well short of analyst expectations, and the electric car maker’s shares fell 11% after hours.
Lucid said it plans to produce 10,000 to 14,000 luxury electric vehicles this year, up from 7,180 last year. On average, analysts expected the company to build 21,815 of his cars, according to Visible Alpha.
The company, backed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, delivered 4,369 cars last year, well below the 7,180 it produced.
Price cuts by Tesla and Ford, the world’s most valuable automakers, are making it harder for companies like Rivian Automotive and Lucid to grab market share in an industry competing for shrinking consumer wallets.
The company said it had more than 28,000 orders as of February 21, down 6,000 from the second quarter after delivering about 1,900 vehicles and seeing cancellations.
“Many customers are probably frustrated by having to wait so long for their car to arrive,” said Garrett Nelson, an analyst at CFRA Research.
“There is a lot more competition than there was a year ago. There are a lot more EVs available at lower prices than Lucid Air vehicles.”
Lucid reported a cash balance of $1.74 billion in the fourth quarter after raising $1.52 billion in December. His cash reserves at the end of the third quarter were $1.26 billion.
Lucid revenue increased to $257.7 million in the quarter ended December 31, up from $26.4 million in the year-ago quarter. On average, analysts expected him to make $302.6 million in sales, according to his IBES data from Refinitiv.
The company’s net loss narrowed to $472.6 million, or 28 cents per share, from a loss of $1.05 billion, or 64 cents per share, last year.
Shares of the Newark, Calif.-based company fell 10.6% in long-term trading. Inventories were down 82% last year after Lucid halved production forecasts due to supply chain issues.
