Lucid Group revealed its vehicle production and deliveries significantly increased year-over-year in the first quarter of 2023.
Production in Q1 2023 amounted to 2,314 Lucid Air cars---235% more than a year ago. Customer deliveries amounted to 1,406, up 290% year-over-year.
While quadrupling deliveries is a very positive outcome, it's from a relatively low base. More importantly, both results are lower than during the fourth quarter of 2022 and marginally higher than in Q3 2022.
Let's also note the difference between production and deliveries---in Q1 2023, the difference was more than 900 cars, while over the last five quarters, from Q1 2022, it accumulated to 3,719 units. As we understand, those are vehicles in transit, between the factory and customers.
For reference, in 2022, Lucid produced 7,180 cars and delivered 4,369. Cumulatively, Lucid has delivered 5,900 electric cars.
In its Q4 2022 financial report, Lucid announced a production volume guidance for 2023 of 10,000-14,000 vehicles, an average of 2,500-3,500 per quarter.
We might get a update on that May 8, when the company will release its financial results from the first quarter of 2023. Considering the recent news of layoffs of 1,300 people, or 18% of the company's total workforce, it is not clear the initial forecast will be maintained.
Lucid had hoped to reach a level of 20,000 units in 2022, which was later reduced to 12,000-14,000 and then to 6,000-7,000.
The recent results are also quite worrying compared to the competition. Aside from Tesla, which reduced prices on the Model S/Model X, Mercedes-Benz recently increased its BEV sales to 7,341 units in Q1 in the U.S. alone, including 3,391 EQS sedans and SUVs.
The Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV is locally produced, while the upcoming Lucid Gravity SUV is not yet introduced.
It seems those few years of delay, needed to secure financing for the plant, cost the company precious time and now it will have to compete with luxury BEVs from other brands, instead of entering a mostly empty space.
The number of Lucid EV reservations as of Feb. 21 was more than 28,000, compared to 37,000 reported in Q2 and 34,000 in Q3 2022.
Abby Andrews