Lucid has high hopes for new Gravity SUV as customer orders open | Wilnesh News

Electric car starts sobriety group Chief Executive Peter Rawlinson said the company hopes to rely on the upcoming Gravity SUV to help the automaker “significantly increase” sales and narrow the company’s losses.

Gravity is Lucid’s second vehicle after the Air sedan, and the luxury electric car maker has been selling relatively few cars since late 2021.

Lucid said Tuesday that customer ordering for the first Gravity model, the Grand Touring, will open on the automaker’s website on Nov. 7. Retail price starts at $94,900. Other models are expected to follow, including an entry-level Gravity Touring model that will cost $79,900 late next year.

“I’m very confident that there’s going to be a significant change in demand for our products and our full portfolio,” Rawlinson told CNBC. “We believe the ratio of SUVs to sedans is about 6 to 1, which will put us in a very good position. “

Air Gravity’s six-times sales multiple is significant for the company, which has struggled with market awareness and customer demand compared to Wall Street’s expectations and its own initial expectations.

wide awake publish As of the third quarter of this year, Air has delivered 7,142 sedans to customers, exceeding the approximately 6,000 vehicles it will deliver in 2023.

Rawlinson said the company, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, expects customer demand to initially outpace output as the automaker ramps up output at its only U.S. plant in Arizona.

Lucid expects to begin mass production of Gravity for customers by the end of the year, but Rawlinson declined to say when deliveries to customers are expected to begin.

Rawlinson said the company is still completing federal crash testing, the self-certification process and awaiting range testing from the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board.

Lucid’s shares have been under pressure this year, down about 40%, due to lower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles. The stock closed Monday at $2.52 a share, up less than 1%.

Lucid will report third-quarter results on November 7, which is the day customers start ordering the Gravity SUV.

According to Lucid, the Gravity Grand Touring will provide more than 800 horsepower and is expected to have an electric range of more than 440 miles.