What happened
Shares of electric-vehicle maker Lucid Group (LCID 0.41%) were soaring on Monday, trading up 6.3% as of 11:25 a.m. EDT.
A competitor is about to hit the public markets that could give Lucid stock a run for its money, but investors aren't reading much into it for now as they have their eyes glued on what surprises Lucid Group could bring up this crucial week.
So what
Lucid kicks off its much-awaited production preview week today, Sept. 27. It will host media tours of its factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, for the first time. Customers, policymakers, and media will not only get a chance to tour the factory and see Lucid's technology and processes first-hand, but will also be able to test-drive its first luxury sedan, the Lucid Air.
The event has already created a lot of buzz on social media as investors expect greater insight into the Lucid Air, a car that's getting a lot of attention lately, especially after winning a stunning range rating from the Environmental Protection Agency. On Sept. 16, the EPA officially accredited Lucid's most expensive model, the Air Dream Edition, with a range rating of 520 miles, making it the longest-range EV so far.
The Lucid Air. Image source: Lucid Group.
More importantly, investors hope Lucid will finally provide firm commercial production dates. In February, the company said it was on track to start production in the second half of 2021, but there's been no word since. On Sept. 22, though, the automaker announced it has started contacting Air Dream Edition reservation holders to confirm their orders, indicating the company could be inching closer to deliveries.
In other hot news that's fueling investor interest in the shares today, the Lucid Air is reportedly featured in the just-released fourth season of the TV series Goliath on Amazon's Prime Video.
Now what
There's clearly a lot of excitement among Lucid investors right now, and the stock should remain hot through the week and beyond, especially if the company confirms production or delivery dates for the Dream Edition in the coming days.
In fact, that update is imperative to convince investors about Lucid's long-term prospects as competition is getting stiffer. This morning, Swedish EV maker Polestar announced its decision to go public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company Gores Guggenheim in early 2022 and list under the ticker symbol PSNY on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Polestar, founded by Volvo Cars Group and Geely Holdings (GELYY -1.82%), already has an edge over Lucid in the EV market given that two of its models, the Polestar 1 and Polestar 2, are already running in North America, Europe, and Asia. In June Polestar said it will build its fully electric Polestar 3 aerodynamic SUV at its Ridgeville, South Carolina, plant that currently produces the Volvo S60 sedan. With Polestar's plans to take on Lucid and Tesla and sell 290,000 vehicles by 2025, its listing should give investors in EV stocks a lot more to talk about.
