Lucid Motors Secures Additional $1 Billion from Saudi Arabia in Pursuit of Luxury EV Market

Lucid Motors, supported by its primary financial patron Saudi Arabia, is raising an additional $1 billion to alleviate the substantial expenses associated with manufacturing and marketing its luxurious electric sedan.

In a regulatory filing on Monday morning, the company disclosed that Ayar Third Investment, an affiliate of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has committed to purchasing $1 billion worth of Lucid’s shares, further bolstering the Kingdom’s existing majority ownership of approximately 60%.

This fresh infusion of funds follows closely after Lucid’s recent announcement to investors, revealing plans to produce approximately 9,000 units of its Air electric vehicles this year, a slight increase from the previous year. Despite this, the company reported a loss of $2.8 billion in 2023, ending the year with nearly $1.4 billion in cash reserves.

Facing challenges in attracting buyers for its high-end Air sedan, Lucid has resorted to multiple price reductions in recent months in a bid to stimulate sales. Additionally, the company aims to commence production of its electric Gravity SUV by the end of the current year.

The decision to secure additional investment comes shortly after CEO Peter Rawlinson expressed caution in over-reliance on Saudi Arabia’s financial support. In an interview with the Financial Times, Rawlinson emphasized the importance of not presuming unlimited funding from the PIF, stating, “If I adopt a mindset that there is bottomless wealth from PIF, that is very dangerous, that is something I will never do, I respect them far too much for that.”