Lucid Production Plunges As The EV Maker Tries To Clear Inventory

The American startup delivered fewer than 4,000 EVs in the third quarter, while production remains capped at a single shift.

Photo by: InsideEVs

By: Iulian Dnistran

Oct 6, at 3:55am ET

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Lucid Motors’ third-quarter production and deliveries fell short of analysts’ expectations.
The startup’s production fell 38% quarter-over-quarter as it tried to move inventory vehicles.
Deliveries also fell compared with the same period last year.

Lucid Motors, the California EV startup that builds the Air sedan and Gravity SUV, delivered 3,806 cars and built 2,954 vehicles during the third quarter. That’s a 6.7% decrease in deliveries compared to the same period last year, and a 24% drop in production.

On the manufacturing side, it’s the lowest number since early 2025 and a 38% drop compared to the second quarter. That’s mainly because the company slashed one of the two assembly shifts at its AMP-1 factory in Arizona in June, and then tried to sell as many inventory vehicles as possible.

The Lucid Gravity GT-S joined the lineup earlier this year as America's most powerful three-row SUV, with over 1,000 hp.

Photo by: Lucid Motors

Lucid deliveries and production during 2026

Period	Production	Deliveries
Q1 2026	5,500	3,093
Q2 2026	4,774	3,953
Q3 2026	2,954	3,806

The third-quarter figures are not looking great, but it’s not all bad news. From the beginning of the year through September 30, Lucid built nearly 33% more cars and delivered 3% more EVs than last year, with 13,228 vehicles assembled and 10,852 total deliveries.

The company doesn’t break out sales for individual models, but the Gravity SUV is likely the winner here, as demand for electric sedans can’t quite keep up with buyers’ inclination to go for an SUV. Lucid said that “demand for the Lucid Gravity continued to regain momentum,” after the electric seven-seater was hit by a costly recall that halted shipments for nearly a month.

Earlier this year, the California company cut production and laid off 18% of its staff as part of an “operational reset” that targets $1.4 billion in cash flow improvements this year.

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Lucid Motors brought in Silvio Napoli to steer the company in the right direction back in April. Napoli, an auto industry outsider, replaced interim CEO Marc Winterhoff and got the extremely tough task of turning a profit.

There are good signs ahead, along with a healthy influx of cash from Uber and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, but the results of these deals won’t be seen for months. The Cosmos mid-size crossover, which is bound to open the company up to a completely different client base, has been delayed to next year. Slated to cost around $50,000, the Cosmos EV will try to make inroads in the highly competitive segment where the Tesla Model Y reigns supreme.