Lucid Motors will launch its more affordable, midsize electric vehicle in 2027, not late 2026 as initially planned, CEO Silvio Napoli said on the company's second-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. The delay comes amid a broad review of Lucid's business that has included deep job cuts and an overhaul of the executive suite.
The Cosmos EV, which should cost under $50,000, is key to scaling up Lucid's vehicle sales and bringing in more revenue. The startup has targeted late 2026 for the start of production at its factory in Saudi Arabia. But on Tuesday, Napoli said the new model will instead hit production in early 2027, before ramping up in the second half of that year.
View Price on AmazonHe said the factory is still taking shape, and that the company continues to test prototypes and build out its supply chain. He also said he did not want to rush the crucial model to market like Lucid had done in the past. Indeed, the Air and Gravity have both suffered from quality issues, particularly software bugs. He called the midsize EV "one of our must-wins."
In a rare admission for a public company, Lucid and Napoli laid out several ways the company has fallen short. In its second-quarter earnings release, the automaker said it has "not executed consistently," "underinvested in service," "responded too slowly" to quality issues, and "allowed complexity to slow decision making." The work ahead is substantial, Napoli said.
Lucid is setting its sights on the autonomous vehicle business through a deal to supply vehicles to Uber. Since joining the company as CEO in June, Napoli has embarked on a deep and broad turnaround plan. He has remade the C-suite; Lucid's COO, CFO, and top engineer all exited in recent months. And he cut about 18% of the automaker's staff in June. Lucid cut a shift of production at its factory in Arizona to rightsize supply with demand and focus on moving inventory.
Source: insideevs.com
