Lucid Group (LCID 3.58%) hopes 2026 is a transformative year for the electric vehicle (EV) maker. After launching only its second vehicle type last year, the company and its shareholders hope to see a meaningful boost to sales volume.
Shares are jumping this week on another avenue of progress, however. As of midday Friday, Lucid stock has surged 12% this week, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
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Can Saudi Arabia save Lucid?
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) was an early investor providing several rounds of critical funding for the luxury EV start-up. Its position has grown, and PIV is Lucid's largest shareholder, owning approximately 60% of the company. It wasn't planned as just a passive investment, either.
Lucid builds its vehicles at its Arizona plant but has also been shipping to Saudi Arabia for final assembly. In the third quarter, the company built an additional 1,000 vehicles for final assembly and sale there.
NASDAQ: LCID
Key Data Points
This week, investors cheered news that industrial automation giant Rockwell Automation will partner with Lucid to support the automaker's expanding manufacturing facility in the Kingdom. Lucid plans to implement Rockwell's enterprise software solutions to oversee and enhance production operations in all key areas at the plant: general assembly, paint, stamping, body, and powertrain.
After a meeting last week, Cantor Fitzgerald also reportedly said the PIF remains committed to supporting the electric vehicle company. Analyst Andres Shepherd wrote that direct talks with PIF provided more optimism that the fund continues to hold a long-term commitment supporting Lucid.
That was enough for investors to pile into Lucid shares this week.
