Lucid’s first-quarter vehicle production, deliveries fall sequentially

(Reuters) -Lucid Group Inc on Thursday reported first-quarter production and delivery figures that were lower than the preceding three months, in line with its guidance of weak production this year.

The luxury electric car-maker produced 2,314 vehicles and delivered 1,406 in the quarter ended Mar. 31, lower than the 3,493 vehicles produced and 1,932 delivered in the December quarter.

Lucid shares fell 3% in after-market trade on the new data. The company said it will report quarterly results on May 8.

The Newark, California-based company, already battling supply chain and logistics issues, was hit by aggressive price cuts sparked by Tesla Inc that lured consumers away from its luxury cars amid rising interest rates and high inflation.

In its full-year forecast released in February, the EV company estimated it will produce 10,000 to 14,000 luxury vehicles through the year, missing analysts estimate of 21,815 cars by a wide margin.

The company, backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund, delivered 4,369 cars in 2022, far below the 7,180 units it produced.

Last month, the company announced it would lay off about 18% of its workforce, or around 1,300 employees, to cut costs as part of a restructuring plan.

(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal and Krishna Chandra Eluri)