American electric carmaker Lucid Motors says it has delivered nearly 3,000 units of its Lucid Air in the lastest quarter, beating expectations on the back of discounts and cheaper financing options.
Lucid announced on Monday that it had delivered a total of 2,781 vehicles, an increase of 387, or 16 per cent, over second quarter deliveries, and beating market estimates of the low-2,000s.
While deliveries beat estimates and were up on the second quarter, production actually fell with only 1,805 models produced in the third quarter, compared to 2,110 in the second, a drop of 14 per cent.
The delivery success, however, comes off the back of a February price cut across all three Lucid Air models, which saw the rear-wheel drive version of the base model Lucid Air Pure drop from $US77,400 to $US69,900, a drop of $US7,500.
The price of the company’s more powerful Lucid Air Touring model fell from $US85,900 to $US77,900, a drop of $US8,000, while the top-of-the-line Lucid Air Grand Touring model only saw a slight cut of $US1,000 to $US109,900.
Lucid joins American EV peers Tesla and Rivian, all of whom have had to slash prices as demand for electric vehicles in North America dwindles in the face of costly upfront prices, high interest rates, and the availability of cheaper hybrid alternatives.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.