EV maker Lucid slumps on announced reorganization, delay in lower-cost model launch

Shares of electric vehicle maker Lucid Group plunged more than 8% in premarket trading on Wednesday. The company is delaying the launch of a lower-priced model amid a business reorganization and cost cuts, CEO Silvio Napoli said.

Lucid fell more than 8% in premarket trading on Wednesday. The previous day, the company announced a reorganization aimed at improving efficiency, reducing cash burn, and improving the customer experience.

The plan was developed by Napoli, who was named to the CEO role in April, Bloomberg notes. It consists of four components. The first calls for around $1.4 billion in savings in 2026. The company expects to save around $500 million through lower capex, $600-800 million by reducing inventory, and around $200 million through lower operating expenses, according to the press release.

The other three components identify Lucid’s priority projects: developing the robotaxi program that the EV maker is pursuing with Uber and software developer Nuro, preparing to launch production at its factory in Saudi Arabia, and continuing work on its midsize EV.

Meanwhile, the launch of the lower-priced model, previously scheduled for the end of this year, has been pushed back to the second half of 2027, Reuters reports, citing Napoli.

“The way we operate has to change,” Napoli said during a conference call on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg. “While there is no question that Lucid brought leading innovations and outstanding products to the market, we have disappointed on several fronts,” he added. The Air luxury sedans and Gravity SUVs were launched “a bit in haste,” Napoli told Reuters. “My objective is that we launch mid-size when it is ready to be on quality,” he said. “Precipitating the launch before everything is aligned would just be, I think at this stage, really a terrible mistake.” Napoli also said Lucid’s full-year EV production and deliveries would fall short of current Wall Street estimates.

In addition, the company has faced high costs, supply chain problems, and tepid consumer demand in the U.S. as the administration of President Trump imposed tariffs and rolled back policies supporting EVs, Bloomberg points out. In the first quarter, for example, a problem with a seat supplier forced the company to halt deliveries of the Lucid Gravity SUV for 29 days. As a result, production increased 149% year over year during the quarter, while customer deliveries remained flat.

The company’s losses, however, are its main problem, the Motley Fool argued back in February. In the first quarter, Lucid posted a net loss of more than $1 billion on revenue of $282.5 million.

Lucid appointed Napoli as CEO in April to improve profitability. Under his leadership, the company produced 4,774 vehicles in the second quarter, up 24% versus the same period in 2025. That was still below Wall Street expectations, Bloomberg noted. Lucid said the reduction in production was deliberate and intended to lower inventory and free up cash.

Wall Street remains cautious on the stock. It has eight “hold” calls from analysts versus three “sell” and two “buy” ratings. The average target price of $7.33 per share is slightly below the closing price on Tuesday.