Lucid's Output Tumbles as the EV Maker Works Through Unsold Stock

Lucid Motors had a tough third quarter, with both production and deliveries landing below what Wall Street had been expecting. The California-based EV manufacturer rolled out 2,954 vehicles from its Arizona plant between July and September, while handing over 3,806 cars to customers. Compared with the same quarter a year earlier, output slid 24 percent and deliveries dipped 6.7 percent.

The sharpest movement came on a sequential basis. Production dropped roughly 38 percent from the second quarter, marking the company’s weakest manufacturing stretch since the start of 2025. The decline traces back to a decision Lucid made back in June, when it paused one of the two assembly shifts at its AMP-1 facility. Since then, the company has focused on selling down vehicles already sitting in inventory rather than building new ones at full tilt.

Despite the downbeat quarterly snapshot, Lucid’s year-to-date numbers offer a more encouraging picture. Through the end of September, the automaker assembled 13,228 vehicles and delivered 10,852 of them — about a third more production and a modest 3 percent increase in deliveries versus the same period last year. Lucid doesn’t publish a model-by-model breakdown, but the Gravity SUV appears to be doing the heavy lifting. The company said demand for the electric seven-seater is “regaining momentum” after a costly recall that stopped shipments for close to a month. Sedan demand, by contrast, continues to lag behind buyer preference for SUVs.

The production slowdown is part of a broader effort Lucid describes as an “operational reset.” Earlier this year, the company trimmed output and cut 18 percent of its workforce, aiming for $1.4 billion in cash flow improvements across the year. Leadership also changed hands: Silvio Napoli, an outsider to the auto industry, took the CEO role in April after Marc Winterhoff’s interim stint, inheriting the difficult assignment of steering Lucid toward profitability. Cash infusions from Uber and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have boosted the balance sheet, though the benefits of those arrangements won’t show up in results for some months.

Looking ahead, much depends on the Cosmos, a mid-size crossover intended to bring Lucid into a far broader customer base. It has been pushed to next year, with a price target of roughly $50,000 — a fiercely contested zone currently dominated by the Tesla Model Y. Until the Cosmos arrives and Gravity momentum translates into steadier deliveries, Lucid’s quarterly figures are likely to stay volatile.