Lucid slashes year's production goal due to supply chain issues

Electric vehicle company Lucid announced it will tone down its production numbers for this year. The company says the move is due to stressed supply chain and logistic issues. This announcement brought down the brand's share value by 14 per cent. The electric vehicle (EV) company has planned to produce 12,000 to 14,000 electric vehicles this year, down from its previous aim of 20,000.

Last year - in late October, Lucid began the deliveries of its premium electric sedan, Lucid Air which is priced at $169,000. The electric vehicle promises a range of 835 km per charge which is more than that offered by EVs manufactured by Tesla. The California-based company delivered 125 cars last year, falling short of its 2021 production target of 577 vehicles. It also posted a net loss of $1.05 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, which is more than triple its loss from a year earlier.

The Chief Executive Officer of the company Peter Rawlinson shared Lucid is struggling to secure more supplies parts such as window glass and interior carpeting than computer chips. He mentioned these shortages have tripped up many other automakers’ production plans. Rawlinson conveyed the company is putting efforts to navigate through the procurement issues by offering to help key suppliers with logistical problems, switching contracts to new suppliers and bringing some processes in-house.

Lucid also shared its plans to establish a new production facility in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Construction of this factory will start in the first half of this year. The company plans to produce up to 1,50,000 vehicles a year from this plant when it will be fully operational.

Other electric vehicle startups like Rivian Automotive and Lordstown Motors, which have raised money in public listings, have fallen short of their own production targets.

(With inputs from agencies)