- Lucid’s Gravity SUV launch has been delayed by supply chain crises and global trade instability, company officials said on on an earnings call.
- Production setbacks and export shifts hurt Q3 results despite Lucid’s efforts to adapt.
- The company faces a tougher EV market and needs the Gravity to succeed before its 2026 midsize EV arrives.
The Gravity SUV is crucial for Lucid Motors. The company may have wowed critics with the Air, which can travel over 500 miles on a charge and offers up to 1,234 horsepower, but it’s 2025. People aren’t dropping $80,000 on sedans much these days; everyone wants an SUV.
The Gravity was supposed to tap into that demand and ignite Lucid’s true growth phase. But the real-world launch has been a bit rockier.
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Source: Patrick George
On the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, Lucid interim CEO Marc Winterhoff blamed underprepared suppliers and a slew of global challenges that got in the company’s way. Per a transcript of the call.
“I’ve said before that our delayed ramp-up of the Gravity is mainly due to a small number of suppliers not able to ramp as expected,” Winterhoff said. “On top of that, we had to cope with a number of extraordinary external headwinds that threatened to shut our production down several times throughout the year. That’s why we are not where we want to be.”
Note that when CEOs use phrases like “extraordinary external headwinds,” they are politely gesturing to the erratic and ill-defined trade environment they’re navigating in the wake of President Donald Trump’s trade war. It’s already caused issues for a couple of major automotive inputs, some of which slowed down Gravity production ramp-up.
He explains more here:
Let me elaborate a bit on this to give you a flavor of what our teams are working through each day. Over the last six months, we have contended with three consecutive industry-wide supply chain crises: magnets, aluminum, chips. These are crises that set even far bigger competitors on their heels.
However, thanks to our vertical integration, and our team’s agility and resourcefulness, we have been able to problem-solve our way through each one to limit impact. First, the magnet shortage in Q2. The magnets we were able to get were incompatible with our unique NACS Boost Charging Drive units for Gravity. Hence, we had to temporarily shift our production plan from the Grand Touring trim for North America to the Touring trim for export to Saudi Arabia until magnet availability improved. Unfortunately, that impacted our Q3 production and numbers simply because of the additional transport time needed.
After we successfully crossed that bridge, a fire at our aluminum supplier’s plant shut other OEMs down, but we were once again able to minimize the impact. And right after this, chip supply threatened the whole industry. While once again our team is on the job, and we are still working through it. I hope this gives you some insight into what our teams are able to navigate on a daily basis.
Now, CEOs would always prefer to blame some external headwind and brag about how their team deftly navigated it. But in this case, Winterhoff is dealing with a truly extraordinary number of external headwinds.
Tariffs are ravaging automotive supply chains and parts manufacturers. Regulatory changes are destroying EV makers’ cash-for-carbon-credits business. Suppliers are catching fire. And on top of it all, Winterhoff is just the interim boss of a company that’s desperately trying to achieve profitability, but struggling in an environment that’s way less friendly to EV companies than it was last year.
Lucid is likely going to be able to ride this out. It’s backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which has deep enough pockets to ride out any temporary storms, and it is clearly a leader in a growing segment.
A teaser for the upcoming midsize Lucid SUV.
Photo by: Lucid Motors
The problem is that the company is now dealing with a much more competitive and smaller EV landscape than experts predicted. The Gravity needs to catapult Lucid to mainstream relevance. If it doesn’t, the company will have to pin its hopes on the upcoming mid-size, affordable EV it wants to launch next year.
“The first variant of our midsized platform remains scheduled for 2026,” Winterhoff confirmed on the call, per the transcript. “Nothing has changed, and we’re working towards that goal.”
Contact the author: Mack.Hogan@insideevs.com.
