Lucid blames dip in Q1 sales on seat supplier issue

Lucid Group experienced a promising end to 2025, significantly ramping up production by doubling its electric vehicle (EV) output and enjoying a 55% increase in sales. However, the first quarter of 2026 brought unexpected challenges. The manufacturer of the Air sedan and Gravity SUV reported a total of 3,093 vehicle sales, marking a substantial 42% decline from the previous quarter and a slight dip of 0.5% compared to the same timeframe last year. Despite producing around 5,500 vehicles during this period, Lucid attributed the sales decline not to a lack of demand, but to complications arising from a supplier quality issue related to second-row seats. This issue caused a significant disruption, delaying deliveries of the Lucid Gravity for 29 days and necessitating a recall of over 4,000 SUVs. The company informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it discovered improper welding on some seat belt anchors in the second row. A spokesperson for Lucid, Nick Twork, confirmed the correlation between the sales decrease and the supplier issues. He noted that an unapproved modification by the supplier led to a temporary halt on Gravity sales for most of February, allowing the company to rectify the quality concerns before resuming deliveries. Twork emphasized Lucid’s recent achievements, highlighting that the company had shown strong performance in both January and March, nearly achieving year-over-year growth during those months. In a recent securities filing, Lucid stated that the supplier issue has been resolved and expressed confidence that this disruption will not hinder its production targets. The company reiterated its production forecast for 2026, expecting to manufacture between 25,000 and 27,000 vehicles this year, which would represent an impressive increase of up to 47% from the previous year. As Lucid prepares to launch its first vehicle utilizing a new lower-cost platform aimed at the mass market, the company is gearing up for increased competition. This upcoming vehicle, priced around $50,000, is set to rival models such as the Rivian R2 SUV, Tesla Model Y, Tesla Model 3, and Chevrolet Equinox EV.