By Jaspreet Singh
(Reuters) -Lucid beat expectations for quarterly deliveries, as the Saudi Arabia-backed maker of luxury electric vehicles lowered prices and offered cheaper financing to drive demand, sending its shares up about 3% on Monday.
The company handed over 3,099 vehicles in the fourth quarter, compared with estimates of 2,637, according to six analysts polled by Visible Alpha. That represented growth of 11% over the third quarter and 78% higher than the fourth quarter a year earlier.
Production rose about 42% to 3,386 vehicles in the reported quarter, surpassing estimates of 2,904 units.
For 2024, production increased 7% to 9,029 vehicles, topping the company's target of 9,000 vehicles. Annual deliveries grew 71% to 10,241 vehicles.
Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID) started taking orders for its Gravity SUV in November, in a bid to take some market share from Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA).
Rivian on Friday topped estimates for deliveries and said its production was no longer constrained by a component shortage. But Tesla reported its first fall in yearly deliveries.
Demand for EVs could face another challenge as President-elect Donald Trump is expected to reverse many of the Biden administration's EV-friendly policies and incentives.
Lucid, backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, has reduced its workforce as part of cost-cutting efforts, with the EV maker still losing tens of thousands of dollars per vehicle.
"While the company managed to boost year-over-year deliveries through price cuts on its Air sedan, this strategy risks putting the startup in an even more precarious financial position," eMarketer analyst Jacob Bourne said.
The company also raised $1.75 billion in October through a stock sale that CEO Peter Rawlinson believes will provide Lucid with a "cash runway well into 2026".
Lucid, whose stock was down about 28% in 2024, is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results on Feb. 25.