Lucid slashes prices for its luxury EVs for the third time in seven months
Lucid Motors announced it was slashing prices on most of its electric vehicles and would also provide up to $1,000 for customers to purchase charging equipment. It was the third price reduction announced by the company in just seven months and came as the company continues to struggle to generate demand amid a broader slowdown in EV sales growth across multiple markets.
Lucid said its base Air Pure model with rear-wheel drive would now start at $71,400, which includes a $1,500 destination fee. That’s down from Air Pure’s $78,900 price announced in October, which itself was down from the $83,900 price that was reported in August.
The Lucid Air Touring with all-wheel drive will now start at $79,400, while the Lucid Grand Touring, with a projected range of over 500 miles, will start at $111,400. Both include the the destination charge.
Lucid also plans on offering $1,000 for customers to purchase charging equipment. Home chargers can cost as little as $400 and as much as $1,000. Lucid’s own Connected Home Charging Station retails for $1,200. And lastly, the company says it will offer all new Lucid Air customers free scheduled maintenance for two years or up to 24,000 miles.
Lucid says its price cuts and other bonuses are designed to address the “barriers” to EV ownership — namely, price and ease. The luxury automaker has struggled to generate demand for its premium-priced vehicles, producing only 8,428 vehicles in 2023, of which only 6,001 were delivered to customers. Lucid also laid off 18 percent of its workforce and cut production targets multiple times.
Lucid is majority owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and is currently building a production facility in the country. The company has shipped 800 vehicles to Saudi Arabia, but it’s unclear whether those deliveries are counted in the company’s report.
Further complicating Lucid’s efforts is the relative saturation of the luxury EV market. Major manufacturers like Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Tesla all have premium-priced models available for sale. There are few early adopters left, and experts say more affordable models are what’s needed now to stimulate demand.
Lucid’s EVs are impeccably designed, garnering many awards, but they have never been affordable. Even with today’s price cuts, the Air Pure is still over $20,000 more expensive than the average sale price for an EV, according to Cox Automotive.