Lucid Air Price Cuts Are Working, Sales On The Rise, CEO Says

Peter Rawlinson said Lucid saw an increase in sales and product interest following the price cuts applied earlier this month.

Lucid Air with Stealth Appearance package

Dan Mihalascu

By: Dan Mihalascu

Aug 23, 2023 at 7:31am ET

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The massive price cuts announced by Lucid for its Air luxury EV earlier this month are starting to work, Lucid Group CEO and founder Peter Rawlinson said at Monterey Car Week.

Speaking with Yahoo Finance, the executive said the EV startup saw an increase in sales and product interest following the price cuts, although he declined to talk numbers.

"We reverted to our original pricing, which I think we got about right. We hit some really inflationary challenges particularly in batteries as we got into the summer of '22. [So] we had to take a price action accordingly. But I'm delighted to say we're back to our original pricing structure, and that's been so well received by customers [and] the market alike," Rawlinson said.

By "original pricing," he meant the prices that were initially announced by Lucid at the Air's launch before it had to raise them last summer.

The company slashed prices in early August by as much as $12,550 on the mid-range Touring and upper-range Grand Touring trims, and by $10,650 on its base Pure trim.

Gallery: Lucid Air Stealth Appearance

Lucid Air With Stealth Appearance

However, the Lucid Air remains an expensive EV, starting at $83,900 (including $1,500 shipping) in Pure AWD trim. As a result, the electric luxury sedan does not qualify for the federal EV tax credit, although it is eligible for the commercial lease exemption that allows buyers to take advantage of the full $7,500 credit via a lease program.

A cheaper Lucid Air trim is on the way, the Pure RWD, which is expected to undercut the Pure AWD by $5,000 according to the company's online configurator. The starting MSRP should therefore be $78,900 (including $1,500 destination). The entry-level Air Pure RWD model will be available in September 2023, the configurator shows.

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As for the Lucid Air Touring and Grand Touring trims, they now start at $96,500 and $127,100, respectively (including $1,500 shipping). Lucid will also launch the 1,234-horsepower Air Sapphire flagship trim later this year with a price tag of $249,000.

The EV startup is also gearing up for the launch of its second model, the three-row Gravity SUV. Rawlinson said everything is on track for the reveal in November. He noted that Lucid has around 30 test "mules," or alpha prototypes, that the company is currently using to put the new vehicle through its paces.