Lucid Might Succumb to Price Hikes in the Future, Too
Citing supply chain and logistics issues, the fledgling automaker recently scaled back its 2022 production estimates.
What a rough time to start building cars. Between pandemic regulations, logistics woes and geopolitical turmoil, situations can seemingly change overnight. Of course, businesses have the flexibility to try and adapt to these changes, but that might involve unpopular decisions like price hikes, as Lucid's CEO recently pointed out.
In an interview with Reuters at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson admitted that price hikes may eventually come to the fledgling automaker. "There's an inevitability that we will have to look at the price points of models that are coming out in the future," Rawlinson told Reuters. "I think it would be absolutely foolish of my to say we're never going to raise our prices."
Last month, Lucid announced a scaling back of its 2022 production estimates from 20,000 vehicles to somewhere between 12,000 and 14,000. According to Rawlinson in his Reuters interview, this isn't due to chips or wiring harnesses, but rather windshield glass and exterior trim parts. However, Rawlinson believes that switching suppliers to boost access to parts would have a detrimental effect on overall quality.
This squeeze isn't limited to new automakers like Lucid, but those automakers' stories have gained traction as the country watches the price of the average new car creep higher and higher. Rivian announced a series of price hikes that included vehicles on preorder, a deeply unpopular move that was quickly reversed, but it still caused one shareholder to sue the company. Tesla has also played with its prices recently, once again raising the price of its non-self-driving Full Self Driving option, and more recently the company instituted price hikes on several of its models.
Business-side issues aside, Lucid has been off to a good start, and its future is promising. Several members of Roadshow have had seat time with the Air, the company's first production electric vehicle, and we've enjoyed its driving characteristics and its impressive in-house powertrain. Lucid's second EV, the Gravity SUV, was recently pushed back to at least 2024 amid supply chain woes. Its sole plant in Arizona is responsible for every Lucid going out to owners, but in the coming years, the automaker plans to open an international plant in Saudi Arabia, as well.
Representatives for Lucid did not immediately return a request for additional comment.
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