Tesla Rival Lucid Plans To Open Factories Outside US By 2025, With Eyes On Middle East, China Regions

Lucid Group Inc LCID has plans to build manufacturing facilities in the Middle East and in China by mid-decade, CNBC reported on Tuesday, citing the luxury electric carmaker’s CEO Peter Rawlinson.

What Happened: The recently-listed electric vehicle maker has a manufacturing facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, where it began production in September.

The company began deliveries for the Dream Edition of Lucid Air sedan last month.

Lucid reported its first financial results as a public company on Monday and said it ended the third quarter with about $4.8 billion in cash.

The company said it has lost $1.5 billion through the first nine months of the year, adding that it has secured more than 17,000 reservations for its Air sedan, which represents an order book of $1.3 billion.

Lucid, which considers Tesla Inc TSLA as a fitting rival, also confirmed its 20,000 vehicle production target in 2022 but said hurdles remain for achieving those plans due to global disruptions to supply chains and logistics. 

See Also: Lucid Group Passes Ford In Market Cap, Continues To Rally Higher

Why It Matters: Rawlinson had late last month said he sees Saudi Arabia as the second-biggest market for luxury electric cars in terms of pre-orders. He indicated Lucid's first factory could have the capacity to make up to 90,000 electric vehicles annually.

Lucid is among a dozen electric vehicle startups that have taken the SPAC route to go public. It counts Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, among major shareholders.

Rawlinson has previously worked as the chief engineer on Tesla's Model S. 

Lucid’s electric vehicle prices are substantially higher than rivals. These numbers are expected to come down as it launches more vehicles that are currently in the pipeline.

The company is also aiming to begin deliveries in Europe and China beginning 2022 and 2023, where it is currently expanding its team. 

See Also: Lucid Motors Sees Saudi Arabia As Second-Largest Market After US For Luxury EVs

Soaring Valuation: Lucid’s market cap blew past legacy automaker Ford Motor Co’ F to $89.9 billion on Tuesday. Ford ended with a $79.09 billion market cap. Amazon.com Inc AMZN and Ford-backed Rivian Automotive Inc RIVN has quickly secured a $146.7 billion valuation after its recent listing. 

LCID Price Action: LCID shares closed 23.7% higher at $55.52 a share on Tuesday.

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