Lucid Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Sherry House: And I can cover off on the R&D question that you had over the next couple of quarters. So we’ve been able to hold R&D pretty flat the last couple of quarters, but I do expect it to tick up over the next 2. And the reason for that is we’re now reaching the important phase in the Gravity development where we’ll be doing prototype vehicles. We’ll also be doing engineering, design and testing on the Gravity and also early work on the midsized, with continued work on advancements in powertrain. We also talked about the fact that we would have Aston Martin coming on, but that really has cash inflows designed to offset it. But I would expect maybe up 20% year-over-year would be the guidance that I’d look to give on a year-over-year basis in R&D.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Andres Sheppard with Cantor Fitzgerald.

Andres Sheppard: Congratulations on the quarter. A lot of our questions have been asked by now. But maybe I was hoping, is it possible to perhaps better quantify the agreement with Saudi Arabia in terms of deliveries for Q3 and Q4? Just trying to figure out how best to model it. I know you said maybe not material in Q3, but just seeing if perhaps we can get a little more color there.

Peter Rawlinson: Well, thank you. Yes, we’re able to announce today that we have signed the finalized agreement. And this is an agreement and a commitment for at least 50,000 vehicles and an option up to an additional 50,000, making it 100,000 vehicles in all. Of all models of Lucid, this includes cars like Lucid Air being made in Arizona and also in Arizona. And we’ve successfully shipped homologated cars at scale to Saudi Arabia already and that’s a real milestone. And these were in transit at the end of the quarter and [indiscernible] shortly after the quarter end. We hope to get them landed and delivered before the Eid and summer holidays in KSA, but that we encountered a couple of issues there, which have now been resolved. So we’re looking forward to beginning ramping deliveries to customers both in Q3 and Q4. Right now, I have to say we’re not providing exact numbers. We don’t plan to provide a geographic mix today.

Andres Sheppard: Got it. Okay, Peter. And maybe just a quick follow-up. Just wondering if you can maybe give us a sense of pricing for the Gravity, the SUV. I know you haven’t disclosed that. But are you able to perhaps point us in the right direction as to where your thinking or what is something that you’re targeting there?

Peter Rawlinson: Sure, sure. Well, we’ve indicated for some time now to anticipate prices are very similar to the sort of price structure that you get with Lucid Air. But we’re not in a position today to disclose those prices. We are planning a major launch event for Gravity in November, and I hope to be in a position that we can disclose those, the pricing structure at that juncture.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Ron Jewsikow with Guggenheim.

Ronald Jewsikow: With the production guidance being maintained implying a pretty big step-up in back half deliveries or at least back half production, how should we think about your pricing strategy going forward? Is your goal to price your product lineup to limit inventory increases from the current level? And would you rather flex pricing or limit production from the current levels?

Peter Rawlinson: Well, I think we want to make the car competitively priced to make it a super compelling proposition which I think it is now. I think it’s an absolute bargain right now, quite frankly. We need to add more vehicles to the visible fleet on the road. The best advertisement we can get is a Lucid Air driving in wild. The more people see the cars, the more they get used to them, the more confidence that they have in our potential customer base. And so we’re seeking to, of course, draw down upon existing inventory here and get the cars in customers’ hands because our best salespeople are our customers. They’re our best, firmest advocates. And this creates a sort of natural catalytic effect. That’s what we’re achieving.