The high cost of producing electric vehicles means that some manufacturers apply cross subsidies to stay alive. One of them is Lucid, which now hopes to cover production costs from their highest selling EV, Lucid Air.
However, this method has drawbacks, namely production will run slowly. Imagine that Lucid currently has a pile of orders totaling 34,000 units, while the incoming money is still small. For this reason, Lucid is trying to hold back consumers who are already in the queue by offering discounts.
Specifically, Lucid sent an email to a customer with an invalid order saying that the company would refund this order at the original price of $139,000 for the Lucid Air Grand Touring. That’s 10% off the current price of $154,000.
These same emails claim that the recovered orders could be completed in a few weeks, as the company is working to complete 7,000 orders by the end of the year. For reference, Lucid has shipped less than 4000 units till the end of September.
It’s not just customers that the company is trying to retain. In fact, the brand has started an employee purchase program, where employees will receive an $18,000 discount on the Air Grand Touring model. If purchasing employees are able to take delivery before December 31, Lucid will inject an additional $500 each pay period until the total amount reaches $18,000, according to Business Insider.
Despite the slower-than-projected delivery rate, Lucid’s sales have been headed in the right direction, as the company’s website now features a ready-to-ship model.
The company also continues to increase production at the Casa Grande, Arizona, manufacturing plant and construction begins at the Saudi Arabia plant, delivery rates will grow exponentially, increasing revenue by $3.2 billion, according to company estimates.
That number is contingent on Lucid maintaining or adding to its current 34,000 orders, and the addition of ads on Instagram indicates that Lucid is keen to do just that.
