Lucid shares surge on back of order book to match legacy car giants Ford and GM

Shares of American EV start-up Lucid Motors have skyrocketed this week on the back of news that customer reservations for the flagship Lucid Air grew and after promises from company executives that production plans for 2022 remain on track.

Lucid Motors went public in July in a listing that brought in $US4.4 billion worth of new capital, and recently began deliveries of the first Lucid Air EVs to customers in California.

It says customer reservations for its Lucid Air climbed to 13,000 through the third quarter, reflecting an order book of approximately $US1.3 billion, but have jumped to 17,000 reservations since the end of the third quarter.

Additionally, CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson confirmed to investors that the company remains confident in its ability to produce 20,000 units in 2022.

“This target is not without risk given ongoing challenges facing the automotive industry, with global disruptions to supply chains and logistics,” said Rawlinson. “We are taking steps to mitigate these challenges, however, and look forward to the launch of the Grand Touring, Touring, and Pure versions of Lucid Air through 2022.”

Investors jumped on the news and sent the company’s market valuation skyrocketing to more than $US89 billion, following a 24% increase in the company’s stock price.

This took Lucid above Ford Motor’s own market value of $US77 billion and close to General Motors’ own market value of $US90.9 billion, despite delivering barely a decimal place of the volume of cars as the big legacy carmakers.

“Our progress this quarter demonstrates our focus on execution, our cutting-edge technology, and our vision to help with solutions to address the climate challenges we all face,” Rawlinson said. “We look forward to ramping up production of our Grand Touring, Touring, and Pure models and expanding our footprint internationally.”