In the third quarter, Lucid Motors experienced a substantial drop in electric vehicle production, reaching its lowest output since early 2025 as the company works to transform its operations amid evolving market conditions.
Production Hits Two-Year Low as Lucid Matches Output to Demand
For the third quarter, Lucid Motors produced 2,954 vehicles, representing a 54% year-over-year decrease. According to a statement released Monday, this marks the company’s third straight quarterly output decline and brings production to its lowest since Q1 2025, shortly after launching its second model, the Gravity SUV. The reduction forms part of Lucid’s ongoing plan to better align manufacturing levels with the current market appetite for its luxury EV lineup. Over the past year, Lucid has found it hard to fulfil initial production targets as sales haven’t kept pace, forcing the automaker to adjust its strategy.
Flat Deliveries and Further Delay for Third Lucid Model
Within the same period, Lucid reported 3,806 vehicle deliveries, nearly unchanged from the previous quarter but down about 200 units from Q3 2025. For most quarters in the past two years, the firm has produced more vehicles than it’s been able to sell, pointing to persistent difficulties in growing its customer base.
To respond to these realities, Silvio Napoli, who stepped in as CEO, has overseen a suite of restructuring actions. These measures include eliminating the second shift at the Arizona plant, compressing management layers, and cutting the workforce by roughly 1,500 people. Collectively, Lucid is targeting $1.4 billion in cost savings, as outlined in internal communications.
Another major decision has been to push back the launch of Lucid’s third vehicle, the Cosmos, which was intended to come to market at a sub-$50,000 entry price. This postponement, made public in early August, reflects Lucid’s desire to learn from prior errors, with Napoli emphasizing in a recent earnings call the importance of timing and readiness: “We will not repeat the mistakes of the past by bringing a product to market before it is ready.”
Rivian Surges as Lucid Lags Behind
Lucid’s performance contrasts starkly with its competitors. Just prior to Lucid’s announcement, Rivian reported a record-breaking quarter, noting robust interest in its new and more accessible R2 SUV. Though exact R2 numbers remain undisclosed, Rivian delivered almost 20,000 vehicles in the third quarter—the model’s first full quarter—far outpacing the 12,194 vehicles shipped in the prior period.
These developments highlight the gap between Lucid’s current market position and the projections made at the time of its 2021 stock market debut. Lucid had anticipated delivering as many as 90,000 vehicles in 2024—a milestone now considered out of reach despite a $4 billion capital raise linked to its SPAC merger.
CEO Napoli Confronts Legacy Issues and Sets a More Deliberate Future Course
CEO Silvio Napoli, in a recent second-quarter earnings call, openly admitted to a number of challenges. “While there is no question that Lucid brought leading innovations and outstanding products to the market, we have disappointed on several fronts, and for far too long,” he said, identifying problems such as missed goals, launching products too early, lack of investment in service, slow fixes to quality problems, and too much organizational complexity as ongoing obstacles.
Looking ahead, Lucid is hopeful that a reasonably priced model will help broaden its reach. Nevertheless, Napoli made it clear that Lucid’s renewed focus will center on getting its vehicles right before launch, rather than chasing ambitious production schedules at the expense of quality.