What happened
Electric vehicle stock Lucid Group (LCID +2.48%) kicked off Wednesday on a solid note and had jumped 13% at 10:50 a.m. EDT.
With Lucid Group finally providing much-awaited crucial updates, investors can't seem to contain their excitement.
So what
Lucid's first luxury cars, Lucid Air, have created a lot of buzz among electric car enthusiasts since the company went public in July, and with the Environmental Protection Agency confirming Air Dream Edition is indeed the longest-range electric car with 520 miles, all investors wanted was to see actual cars roll out of Lucid's factories and onto the roads. When the company kicked off its production preview week on Sept. 27, investors hoped it'd finally announce firm production and delivery dates.
Lucid didn't disappoint: It just announced the start of commercial production at its facilities in Casa Grande, Arizona, and confirmed that reservation holders for the Air Dream Edition who have finalized their orders will start receiving their vehicles in late October. The company will then focus on deliveries of the Grand Touring, Touring, and Pure models.
Image source: Lucid Group.
Dream Edition is Lucid's most expensive model, starting at $169,000, and reservations have sold out. The company plans to build 520 vehicles for now. In total, Lucid has received more than 13,000 reservations across all models so far. The company put the number of paid reservations at 11,000 as of the end of July.
"I'm delighted that production cars endowed with this level of efficiency are currently driving off our factory lines," CEO Peter Rawlinson said at the event, referring to the high range ratings of Air vehicles. Air Grand Touring, for example, has an official EPA range rating of 516 miles achieved on a 112 kWh battery pack, which gives it an efficiency of 4.6 miles per kWh.
Lucid also gave investors a glimpse into its future by announcing plans to expand its advanced manufacturing plant (AMP-1) factory by 2.85 million square feet to not just boost Air production but also pave the way for production of Lucid's first SUV, Gravity, by 2023. With its long range and spacious interiors, Lucid believes Gravity will be the world's "most versatile electric SUV."
Now what
There's a lot to like here. Lucid constructed AMP-1 in less than one year and is already expanding it, has delivered on its forecast of starting production in the second half of 2021, and is living up to its range claims. Investors are reacting positively to these developments, making September one of the biggest months for Lucid shares, as I expected.
