Customer communities are vital for luxury vehicle growth

In late February 2023, luxury electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Lucid Motors’ shares fell 11% following a production forecast for the year ahead that fell short of expectations. The automaker stated that between 10,000 and 14,000 units would likely be produced in 2023, roughly 46-64% fewer than the 21,815 anticipated by financial market analyst Visible Alpha.

This could be the second year Lucid underperforms against expectations: in 2022, it delivered only 61% of the vehicles it produced. Common industry-wide issues such as supply chain and logistics bottlenecks were cited by the company as factors. However, the impact of Tesla’s decision to cut prices by up to 20% could have significant implications for both Lucid and the wider luxury vehicle market. Analysis from Reuters found that Lucid’s cost of revenue was more than double its sales, with Rivian’s closer to triple. It is becoming much more difficult for smaller luxury OEMs to competitively price their products. Meanwhile, Tesla’s 1.3 million vehicles sold in 2022 dwarfs the cumulative sales of Lucid and Rivian combined: only 24,000.