Electric vehicle maker %LucidGroup ($LCID) shares are down 13.77% today after the company cut its car production forecast for this year by 40%.
Lucid cited supply chain constraints and parts quality issues for slashing its 2022 production to between 12,000 and 14,000 vehicles, down from initial expectations of 20,000.
The company said the problems it is experiencing have more to do with commodity parts such as glass and carpet rather than an ongoing global shortage of semiconductor chips that has hampered other automotive manufacturers.
Lucid’s first electric vehicle is a $169,000 U.S. sedan called the %LucidAir. Since beginning production last fall, the company has produced more than 400 of the vehicles at its factory in Arizona.
The company has delivered more than 300 of those units to customers, including 125 units during the fourth quarter, the company said.
Lucid also announced that it is delaying the launch of its second vehicle, an electric SUV called the Gravity, to the first half of 2024. It was initially expected in 2023.
Lucid announced the production forecast and sales as part of reporting its fourth-quarter 2021 results. The automaker reported a loss of $1 billion U.S. during the fourth quarter on revenue of $26.4 million U.S. It lost a total of $4.8 billion U.S. in all of 2021, the company reported.
Shares of Lucid, which went public in July last year through a SPAC deal, closed yesterday (February 28) at $28.98 U.S. a share. The company’s market capitalization is $48 billion U.S.
Lucid said customer reservations now exceed 25,000 units, reflecting potential sales of more than $2.4 billion U.S. That’s up from 17,000 reservations last November.
Lucid also confirmed plans to build its first international assembly plant in Saudi Arabia. The plant is expected to begin production in 2025 with a maximum capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year.