SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Lucid reported third-quarter revenue below analysts' estimates and a bigger-than-expected loss on Wednesday, despite a jump in deliveries sparked by now-expired tax credits, as
the EV maker grappled with production constraints and rising costs.
The company also said the Public Investment Fund, its largest shareholder, had agreed to increase a credit facility to about $2 billion from $750 million.
The facility remains undrawn, Lucid said. But the money is crucial for the company, known for its Air luxury electric sedans, as it ramps up production of its recently launched Gravity SUVs and prepares to roll out a more affordable mid-size vehicle next year.
Apart from a hit from high tariffs imposed on auto part imports, Lucid, like some its rivals, has been combating a slew of supply-chain challenges, including a chip shortage, uncertain supplies of rare earths and a fire in September at an aluminum supplier.
That led to a slower-than-expected rise in production of the Gravity SUV and, to some extent, the Air. The company has resolved some of the supply constraints and has added a second shift to bump up production, CEO Marc Winterhoff had told Reuters at its Automotive USA 2025 conference late last month.
Lucid lowered its annual production forecast in August and expects to make between 18,000 and 20,000 vehicles this year. The company did not provide an update on that forecast in its filing on Wednesday. Six analysts on average expect Lucid to produce 17,320 vehicles this year.
While anticipation of the removal of a $7,500 tax credit on electric vehicle purchases at the end of September led to a buying frenzy last quarter, analysts expect demand to drop through the rest of the year.
For the quarter ended September, Lucid reported a 68% jump in revenue to $336.6 million, but well below analysts' average expectations of $379.1 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company posted an adjusted loss of $2.65 per share, compared with the estimate of a $2.27 loss.
(Reporting by Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
