Lucid has high hopes for new Gravity SUV as customer orders open

Electric vehicle startup Lucid Group is counting on its upcoming Gravity SUV to assist the automaker in a “significant increase” in sales volumes to narrow the company’s losses, according to CEO Peter Rawlinson.

The Gravity is Lucid’s second vehicle following the Air sedan, which the luxury EV manufacturer has been selling in relatively small numbers since late 2021.

Lucid on Tuesday said customer ordering for the first Gravity model, called the Grand Touring, will open Nov. 7 on the carmaker’s website. It’s set to retail starting at $94,900. Other models are expected to follow, including an entry-level $79,900 Gravity Touring trim late next year.

“I’m very confident we’ll enjoy significant step change in demand for our products, our complete product portfolio,” Rawlinson told CNBC. “We believe there’s about a 6-to-1 ratio … for the SUV over sedan, and that’s going to put us in a very strong position.”

A six-times sales multiplier for the Gravity over the Air would be significant for the company, which has struggled with market awareness and customer demand compared with Wall Street’s expectations and its own initial expectations.

Lucid delivered 7,142 Air sedans to customers through the third quarter of this year, topping its roughly 6,000 vehicles delivered in 2023.

Rawlinson said the company, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, expects customer demand to initially outpace production, as the automaker ramps up output at its sole U.S. plant in Arizona.

Lucid expects to begin serial production of the Gravity for customers by the end of this year, but Rawlinson declined to disclose when customer deliveries are expected to begin.

Rawlinson said the company is still finalizing federal crash testing, a self-certification process, as well as awaiting range testing from the Environmental Protection Agency, followed by the California Air Resources Board.

Shares of Lucid have been under pressure this year, down roughly 40% as EV demand has been slower than expected. The stock closed Monday at $2.52 per share, up less than 1%.

Lucid is set to report its third-quarter results on Nov. 7 — the day customer ordering opens for the Gravity SUV.