Lucid (NASDAQ: LCID | LCID Price Prediction) has had enough trouble selling vehicles and explaining billion-dollar losses. Its new CEO made Wall St.’s perception of Lucid’s prospects even worse. He said he needs to review the EV firm’s operations. He hinted that, in the short term, these may be poor.
New CEO Silvio Napoli said, on Lucid’s quarterly investment call, that he was suspending the company’s guidance for 2026 unit sales. And he indicated that the figure for these sales could be lowered. CNBC reported, “Lucid Group said it will make moves to better align its production with customer demand for its luxury all-electric vehicles.”
Lucid shares dropped 6.5% yesterday and another 4% today.
Lucid reported that it produced only 5,550 vehicles in the first quarter and only delivered 3,093. Deliveries were hampered by a production problem. “February delivery timing was affected by a supplier issue resolved during the quarter,” the company said.
Lucid figures missed Wall St. expectations badly. Its EPS loss of $3.46 was worse than the forecast loss of $2.64. Its revenue was $282.5 million, compared to the $440.4 million expected. It lost $1 billion compared to a loss of $731 million in the same period last year. Management commented, “We are entering Lucid’s next growth phase with a clear mandate: to accelerate toward financial self-sufficiency while delivering industry-leading innovation and customer experience.” It is a statement that is hard to believe.
To start, selling 5,000 vehicles a quarter makes it impossible to believe Lucid will ever be profitable. Even at a large multiple of these unit sales, a loss is certain.
The price of Lucid vehicles ranges from $70,000 to $249,000. The current US EV market has been largely driven by efforts to make inexpensive EVs to attract a larger customer base. One telling part of the Lucid sales process is that it offers 0% APR financing for up to 60 months. It has to lose money on the arrangement
The market for EVs in the US has eroded compared to last year. Napoli does not have any chance to save the company.
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