Lucid Group on Wednesday forecast 2023 production well below analysts’ expectations and reported a sharp drop in orders in the fourth quarter, sending shares of the electric car maker down 11% after hours.
Lucid said it expects to produce 10,000 to 14,000 luxury electric vehicles this year, up from 7,180 last year. Analysts on average expected the company to produce 21,815 vehicles, according to Visible Alpha.
Backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the company delivered 4,369 vehicles last year, well below the 7,180 it produced.
Price cuts by the world’s most valuable automakers Tesla and Ford are making it harder for companies like Rivian Automotive Inc and Lucid to grab share in an industry competing for shrinking consumer wallets.
The company said it had more than 28,000 orders as of Feb. 21, down 6,000 from the second quarter after it delivered about 1,900 vehicles and canceled orders.
“It can be frustrating for customers to have to wait so long to get the vehicle they ordered,” said Garrett Nelson, an analyst at CFRA Research.
“Compared to a year ago, there is more competition … There are more EVs being sold at lower prices than there are Lucid Air vehicles.”
Lucid had a cash balance of $1.74 billion in the fourth quarter after raising $1.52 billion in December. It had $1.26 billion in cash reserves at the end of the third quarter.
Lucid’s revenue rose to $257.7 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $26.4 million a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected sales of $302.6 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
The company’s net loss narrowed to $472.6 million, or 28 cents a share, from a loss of $1.05 billion, or 64 cents a share, a year ago.
Shares of the Newark, Calif.-based company fell 10.6% in extended trading. The stock fell 82% last year after Lucid halved its production forecast due to supply chain issues.