Lucid Motors' EV output falls to lowest level in almost two years

Lucid Motors built 2,954 electric vehicles in the third quarter of 2026, a 54 per cent drop from a year ago, as the company deliberately limits production to better match demand for its EVs, the company said on Monday.

It was the third straight quarter in which Lucid’s build numbers have declined, and the lowest quarterly output since the first quarter of 2025, just after the company started production of its second EV, the Gravity SUV.

Lucid delivered 3,806 EVs in the quarter, roughly flat with the second quarter and down about 200 vehicles from the third quarter of 2025. In five of the last six quarters, the company has built more vehicles than it delivered.

Chief executive Silvio Napoli has spent the last few months leading an effort to “simplify the company”, laying off around 1,500 employees, streamlining leadership and eliminating a second shift at its Arizona factory in a bid to reach $1.4 billion in cost savings. Lucid has also delayed the release of its third EV, the Cosmos, which is meant to start at under $50,000.

“We will not repeat the mistakes of the past by bringing a product to market before it is ready,” Napoli said on the second-quarter earnings call in August, where he admitted the company had “disappointed on several fronts, and for far too long”.

The figures contrast sharply with rival EV upstart Rivian, which posted its best quarter in history on the back of its new, more affordable R2 SUV, shipping nearly 20,000 vehicles in the third quarter.