Lucid Motors, a maker of widely praised electric cars that the company has struggled to mass produce, said Wednesday that it delivered 679 vehicles in the second quarter, and cut its production target for the year by almost half.
The California company, which hopes to challenge Tesla in the luxury car market, had told investors earlier this year that it would deliver 12,000 vehicles in 2022. Lucid slashed that target Wednesday, saying it would be 6,000 to 7,000 vehicles.
Peter Rawlinson, Lucid’s chief executive, said “the extraordinary supply chain and logistics challenges we encountered” were to blame for the shortfall. Demand for vehicles remains strong, he said, adding in a statement, “I remain confident that we shall overcome these near-term challenges.”
The 679 deliveries in the second quarter compared with just 360 vehicles in the first. Lucid said in May that it was having problems acquiring components. All automakers have suffered supply chain problems, but shortages of parts and raw materials have come at an especially bad time for Lucid and other fledgling carmakers like Rivian. Manufacturing vehicles is difficult enough for a new company without having to fight for a share of scarce commodities.
After its debut model, the Lucid Air, was named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year for 2022, the company was seen as a serious threat to Tesla because of the sedan’s range of more than 500 miles on a charge and its attractive styling. Lucid’s headquarters in Newark, Calif., is a short drive from Tesla’s factory in Fremont, and Mr. Rawlinson is a former Tesla executive.
But investors have grown pessimistic about the ability of Lucid, Rivian and other electric car start-ups to gain significant market share. The least expensive Air starts at $87,400 while the top of the line goes for $169,000, pitting it against established carmakers like Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Porsche that have begun selling battery-powered luxury cars.
The traditional carmakers were slow to develop electric cars that resonated with consumers, but now their decades of experience and networks of factories are proving a decisive advantage. Ford Motor said Wednesday that it sold 7,700 battery-powered vehicles in the United States in July, an increase of 170 percent from a year earlier. Ford has sold 31,000 electric vehicles in the first seven months of the year.
Expanded incentives for electric car buyers being considered by Congress will not help Lucid. Its sedans will not be eligible for a federal electric vehicle tax credit of $7,500 because its models are too expensive. Under the Senate’s proposed climate and energy package, buyers can claim the credit only for sedans with a list price of $55,000 or less and for vans, sport-utility vehicles and trucks selling for $80,000 or less.
Lucid’s share price has tumbled from a high of $55 in November to less than $20 recently.
The company lost $220 million in the second quarter on sales of $97 million. That compared with a loss of $81 million in the first quarter of 2022 on sales of $58 million. Lucid said it had enough cash to “to fund the company well into 2023.”