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Lucid Will Deliver Less Than Half of Its Promised Vehicles for 2022

Feeling the pain of the chip shortage and supply chain issues, Lucid is forced to adjust its goals for 2022, and investors aren't thrilled

Lucid Air
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    Contributor
    Kristin Shaw has worked in the automotive industry as a freelance writer since 2012. Her first review was about a Ferrari F430, which is a great place to start for a lifelong enthusiast. She has tested and reviewed hundreds of vehicles over the past decade, and some of her favorites include the C2 and C8 Corvette, Lamborghini Aventador S, BMW X5 and Toyota GR86. Her dream car is a restomod 1957 Chevy Bel Air in turquoise. She's competing in her first Rebelle Rally, an all-female off-roading competition, in the fall of 2022 in a lifted Hyundai Santa Cruz. Her work has also been seen in The Drive, AutoWise, GearJunkie, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes Wheels, Today, The Washington Post and more.
  • California-based Lucid Motors announced a sharp reduction in production from 20,000 to less than half that number.
  • Blaming logistics challenges and supply chain woes, Lucid is focused on honing in on what it can accomplish this year.

On August 3, Lucid Motors announced it was seeing "strong demand with over 37,000 reservations, representing potential sales of approximately $3.5B." The positive language was designed to soften the blow to investors, who now know the nascent automaker drastically decreased its yearly production target for 2022 from 20,000 units of its Air sedan to between 6,000 and 7,000 vehicles.

Citing "extraordinary" supply chain and logistics challenges, Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson said during a call with investors that the company has identified the primary bottlenecks and is taking appropriate measures, including restructuring its logistics and manufacturing organization. Shares fell sharply with the news, further adding stress to the company's finances.

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Lucid Air

According to Lucid, the company made1,405 vehicles in the first half of the year, which means it's behind the proverbial 8-ball and has some catching up to do. Competitor and semi-professional heckler Elon Musk responded to a tweet about Lucid with a snarky "I had more kids in Q2 than they made cars!" Perhaps Musk should take a seat considering the Cybertruck he promised back in 2019 has been stalled and production won't start before 2023 at the earliest.

On top of the production issues, Lucid was forced to deal with a recall in May due to a potential problem with its Ethernet wiring harness. According to The Drive, a Lucid spokesperson said that out of the 1,100 or so potentially affected customers, less than 1% (10 cars) will have that issue present, though all were issued the recall.

Lucid Air

Edmunds says

Certainly, Lucid isn't the only automaker feeling the squeeze of supply chain woes, but as an EV company with newer technology on the market, Lucid can't lean on its legacy products to help it through a rough spot. The fledgling automaker will have to power through this crisis to get to the other side.

Lucid Air
Kristin Shawby

Kristin Shaw has worked in the automotive industry as a freelance writer since 2012. Her first review was about a Ferrari F430, which is a great place to start for a lifelong enthusiast. She has tested and reviewed hundreds of vehicles over the past decade, and some of her favorites include the C2 and C8 Corvette, Lamborghini Aventador S, BMW X5 and Toyota GR86. Her dream car is a restomod 1957 Chevy Bel Air in turquoise. She's competing in her first Rebelle Rally, an all-female off-roading competition, in the fall of 2022 in a lifted Hyundai Santa Cruz. Her work has also been seen in The Drive, AutoWise, GearJunkie, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes Wheels, Today, The Washington Post and more.

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