American electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Group has announced its financial performance for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023. In the fourth quarter of last year, Lucid produced 2,391 vehicles, delivered 1,734 vehicles, and generated revenue of $157.2 million. For the full year 2023, Lucid produced 8,428 vehicles, delivered 6,001, and earned revenue of $595.3 million, resulting in a loss of $2.8 billion, with approximately $4.78 billion in total liquidity at the end of the quarter.
Looking ahead to 2024, Lucid expects to produce 9,000 electric vehicles, only 500 to 1,000 more than in 2023. This is a stark contrast to the company's initial forecast three years ago when it went public, predicting to manufacture and sell 90,000 electric vehicles by 2024. This means that Lucid's expected production for this year is only 10% of what was anticipated at that time.
The gap between the new production target and the initial expectations highlights the harsh reality Lucid currently faces: the company is still struggling to find buyers, and it is losing money with each electric vehicle it produces.
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson has spent much of last year discussing the importance of improving sales and marketing efforts for the company, while also noting that the upcoming Gravity SUV could provide a boost. Gravity was one of the reasons Lucid initially predicted to manufacture and deliver 90,000 vehicles within a few years, with Lucid also forecasting Gravity's sales to surpass Air by 2024.
However, the reality is that Lucid faced many supply chain and production issues early on with Air, and had to postpone the launch of Gravity in 2022. The company eventually launched the SUV in November 2023, with plans to begin production by the end of this year. However, Gravity remains significant for Lucid now.
Apart from Gravity, there are other factors that could provide a boost to the company. Recently, Lucid started selling a rear-wheel-drive version of its base model, Air Pure, which has been priced at under $70,000 after recent discounts.
Last year, Lucid also announced it would sell some electric vehicle technology to Aston Martin. Rawlinson also stated during the 2023 earnings call that Lucid would continue negotiations for similar technology licensing and supply agreements with other companies inside and outside the automotive industry.
Saudi Arabia holds a majority stake in Lucid Motors through its Public Investment Fund. Saudi Arabia has also agreed to purchase up to 100,000 electric vehicles from Lucid over the next decade. The company began shipping Air sedans to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the end of last year, with "good growth expected in the region this year."
