- Lucid's CEO said Gravity production is "not where we want to be."
- The EV startup's first SUV and second model ever is critical to its growth plans.
- Supply chain issues, including a constrained supply of Chinese magnets, were to blame. The automaker says production should accelerate in the second half of 2025.
Lucid Motors reported second-quarter earnings on Tuesday and gave an update on production of its critical Gravity SUV. The EV startup's second model is ramping up more slowly than the company would've liked, interim CEO Marc Winterhoff said on a conference call with investors.
"I feel that it is important to acknowledge that we are not where we want to be with Lucid Gravity production relative to our target at this point in the year," Winterhoff said. "However, our team has been working very hard all year to address bottlenecks in our supply chain and improve manufacturing efficiency. I’m happy to say that we have overcome most of these issues and are beginning to ramp up Lucid Gravity production."
Winterhoff chalked the sluggish output up to two main factors: suppliers that didn't have enough capacity and the limited supply of magnets from China. In response to President Trump's chaotic trade war, China in April restricted exports of rare earth magnets, which are crucial to car production. They go into all sorts of electronic motors, including those that make EVs go.
The CEO said Lucid was able to source and swap in different magnets, and that it has secured enough magnets to support production through the end of the year. The automaker revised its annual production guidance from 20,000 units to 18,000-20,000.
Lucid reported revenue of $259 million for the quarter and an adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) loss of $632 million. Its shares slid around 9% after the market close.
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A lot is riding on how quickly and successfully Lucid can the Gravity out to the public. As its first SUV, the Gravity is key to Lucid's growth plans and should drive significantly higher sales than the current Air sedan. That's crucial for a company that is still burning cash every quarter as it builds manufacturing scale.
The automaker delivered the first few Gravity SUVs to people close to the company at the end of last year. Earlier this year, the company said deliveries would start in full force in late April. Lucid doesn't break out model-specific delivery figures, but third party data suggests that the overwhelming majority of its U.S. sales so far this year have been Airs.
Winterhoff said Lucid will "significantly increase production in the second half of the year." He also said Lucid is still on track to start building its roughly $50,000 midsize SUV in 2026, and that it will reveal the model next year.
Fellow EV upstart Rivian also reported earnings on Tuesday that put the impact of Trump's policy shifts into focus. It said it expects tariffs to add a "couple thousand dollars" of cost to each R1S and R1T it sells this year. With federal fuel economy regulations essentially neutralized by Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Rivian now expects sales of regulatory credits to other automakers to dry up in the rest of 2025, leading to a bigger annual loss than it previously guided.
Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com
