Lucid Group Q1 2026 Earnings Call - New CEO Takes Helm as Uber Deal Expands and Robotaxi Timeline Stays on Track
Summary
Lucid Group reported a volatile first quarter of 2026, marked by a temporary Gravity stop-sale that distorted production and delivery figures, but the underlying strategic trajectory remains intact. The company raised over $1 billion in new capital, including a $550 million investment from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and expanded its Uber partnership to at least 35,000 vehicles with a $500 million equity injection. Incoming CEO Silvio Napoli began his tenure by emphasizing cost discipline, capital efficiency, and a return to customer-centric execution. While gross margin suffered temporarily due to lower volumes and fixed cost absorption, management reaffirmed its long-term path to profitability, anchored by the upcoming midsize platform and a Robotaxi program targeting a late 2026 commercial launch.
Lucid’s liquidity position was significantly strengthened to approximately $4.7 billion pro forma, extending its operating runway into the second half of 2027. Despite a $1 billion net loss driven by non-cash fair value adjustments and the operational disruption, the company is implementing a $500 million cost reduction program and has suspended prior guidance pending a strategic review by the new CEO. Production methodology has been updated to improve transparency, and international expansion is accelerating through agency partnerships in Europe. The narrative is shifting from survival to disciplined scaling, with the midsize launch and Robotaxi rollout serving as the critical inflection points for future growth and margin expansion.
Key Takeaways
- Incoming CEO Silvio Napoli takes the reins, prioritizing cost discipline, capital efficiency, and a return to customer-centric execution while suspending prior guidance for a strategic review.
- Lucid expanded its Uber partnership to at least 35,000 Robotaxi vehicles, with Uber’s equity investment increasing to $500 million and a board nomination for Uber’s Chief Product Officer.
- Pro forma liquidity stands at $4.7 billion following a $1.05 billion capital raise, including $550 million from PIF and a $300 million registered direct offering, extending runway into H2 2027.
- Q1 production hit 5,500 vehicles, a 149% year-over-year increase, but deliveries remained flat at 3,093 due to a temporary Gravity stop-sale that elevated inventory and distorted cash flow.
- Gross margin contracted to -110.4% sequentially, driven by lower delivery volumes, fixed cost absorption issues, and the non-recurring regulatory credit boost from Q4, though unit costs are trending back toward targets.
- Lucid raised $282 million in revenue, up approximately 20% year-over-year, primarily due to mix and pricing benefits from the Gravity launch, despite the operational disruption.
- The Robotaxi program with Uber and Nuro remains on track for a late 2026 commercial launch, with all milestones met, 75 engineering vehicles delivered, and driverless testing approved in California.
- Management announced a $500 million cost reduction program over three years, including headcount actions, to sharpen operational efficiency and redirect capital to high-return priorities.
- Lucid updated its production reporting methodology to a 'process complete' definition, improving comparability with peers and reducing volatility from shipment logistics.
- The midsize platform, expected to start production in 2027 with pricing below $50,000, continues to be the central pillar for unlocking scale, affordability, and long-term unit economics improvement.
- International expansion is accelerating through capital-efficient agency partnerships, with a new retail partnership launched in Europe and multiple LOIs in place to scale distribution rapidly.
- Interim CEO Marc Winterhoff highlighted a strong rebound in March deliveries and order intake, with Gravity driving demand and Lucid regaining its position among the best-selling EVs in its segments.
Full Transcript
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Lucid Group first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. Please be advised that today’s conference call is being recorded. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session. I would now like to turn the conference over to your speaker for today, Nick Twork, Vice President of Communications. Please go ahead.
Nick Twork, Vice President of Communications, Lucid Group: Thank you. Welcome to Lucid Group’s first quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me today are Silvio Napoli, incoming CEO, Marc Winterhoff, our interim CEO, and Taoufiq Boussaid, our CFO. Before I hand the call over to Silvio, let me remind you that some of the statements on this call include forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. These include, without limitation, statements regarding the future financial performance of the company, production and delivery volumes, vehicles and products, studios and service networks, financial and operating outlook and guidance, macroeconomic, geopolitical, policy and industry trends, tariffs and trade policy, company initiatives, leadership changes, and other future events. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this communication, and on the predictions and expectations of our management as of today.
Actual events or results are difficult or impossible to predict and may differ due to a number of risks and uncertainties. We refer you to the cautionary language and the risk factors in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31st, 2025, subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on our Form 8-K and other SEC filings, and the forward-looking statements on page 2 of our quarterly earnings presentation available on the investor relations section of our website at ir.lucidmotors.com. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason except as required by law. In addition, management will make reference to non-GAAP financial measures during this call.
A discussion of why we use non-GAAP financial measures and information regarding reconciliation of our GAAP versus non-GAAP results is available on our earnings press release issued earlier this afternoon, as well as in the earnings presentation. I’d like to turn the call over to Lucid’s incoming CEO, Silvio Napoli. Silvio, please go ahead.
Silvio Napoli, Incoming CEO, Lucid Group: Thank you, Nick. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining. This is my first earnings call with Lucid, and as I already had the opportunity to share with many of you, I’m extremely pleased to be here and part of the Lucid team. With not even a month with the company, I’m still at a very early stage, so I’ll keep my remarks brief. Let me start by reiterating why I’m here. Lucid brings together state-of-the-art technology, a premium product platform, and a unique opportunity to build a strong, enduring position in a transforming industry. That combination is compelling. That is the reason that brought me here. Today, three weeks into the journey, I’m even more convinced that this is the case. In my first days, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with our teams in Newark headquarters and in some of our key markets.
In fact, on the very first day, I traveled to visit a factory in Arizona, the heart of Lucid. Last week, I traveled to Saudi Arabia to witness a strong brand recognition in this fast-growing market and to see firsthand the progress of a new factory under construction. As you know, this manufacturing center is an essential part of our commitment to drive scale, profitability, and to position Lucid on the world stage. While there, I’ve also been meeting with employees, shareholders, and with local stakeholders. Everywhere I go, I’m focused on listening and beginning to understand where we are strongest and where we need to improve. What stands out immediately is the incredible domain competence and outstanding motivation of the Lucid team and the strength of our product.
At the same time, it’s clear that realizing Lucid’s full potential will require sharper focus and consistent execution, particularly around simplification, prioritization, and speed. My near-term priorities are straightforward. Recenter all our activities around the customers, ensure the organization operates with clarity and accountability, focus resources on the highest impact areas, and embed a stronger culture of cost and capital discipline across the business. A central objective over time is to build a more self-sufficient company, one that progresses towards funding its own growth. That means being rigorous in delivering on our commitments and how we allocate capital to few vital priorities. In simple words, this means making clear choices on where to invest and, just as importantly, where not to. At the risk of stating the obvious, I’m not in the position to comment on results reached prior to my joining.
Accordingly, I trust you will understand that today I will not comment on any specifics, including the outlook. My goal over the coming weeks is to deepen my understanding of the business so I can engage more fully with you in the future discussions. With that, I’ll turn the call over to the team to walk you through the Q1 results. Thank you.
Marc Winterhoff, Interim CEO / Chief Operating Officer, Lucid Group: Thank you, Silvio. Good afternoon, everyone. Let me start with the key takeaways. We expanded our Uber partnership to at least 35,000 vehicles, raised over $1 billion in new capital, and ended the quarter with a clear cost reduction program underway. The foundation is solid, and we are building on it. We have made meaningful progress on each of these fronts. Among the highlights, first, we expanded our partnership with Uber to provide a minimum of 35,000 Robotaxis, up from 20,000 previously announced, and increased their investment to $500 million, up from $300 million, improving our visibility into long-term demand and revenue in a new and growing market. Further reflecting the strengthening relationship between our companies, Sachin Kansal, Chief Product Officer at Uber, has been nominated for election to Lucid’s Board of Directors.
Second, we significantly strengthened our financial position, raising approximately $1.05 billion, including $550 million investment from the Public Investment Fund through a private placement, reaffirming their continued support and long-term commitment to Lucid. We maintained approximately $2 billion of undrawn commitment under the DDTL after drawing $500 million of cash in April, further enhancing our financial flexibility. Pro forma for the capital raise and the DDTL increase, liquidity at quarter end would have been $4.7 billion, providing ample flexibility to continue to support development of our midsize platform and the continued build-out of M2. Third, we continue to execute to deliver scale and profitability, delivering $282 million in revenue.
Despite the unforeseen geopolitical tensions and logistical obstacles in the region during Q1, our M2 construction never stopped, and we continue to install capital equipment and work toward start of production. The plan remains to ramp up midsize vehicle production in 2027, and we launched an aggressive cost reduction program targeting cost savings across all areas of the organization in all geographies. Let me walk you through the key updates of the execution of our strategy in detail. Following the framework we laid out at our recent Investor Day, the Lucid Air and Gravity continue to anchor our near-term growth, and our focus here remains execution, quality, delivery, and customer experience. Operationally, we produced 5,500 vehicles in Q1, up 149% year-over-year. Despite a temporary disruption which elevated costs, we exited the quarter trending back toward our cost targets.
We delivered 3,093 vehicles, which was flat compared to Q1 2025. When Gravity deliveries were temporarily impacted by a supplier issue, we acted quickly, resolved it, and resumed deliveries with additional quality controls. As deliveries resumed, we saw improving momentum through the quarter, including the highest March deliveries in Lucid history, up 14% year-over-year. We also experienced a strong rebound in order intake, up 144% in North America in March from February, with Gravity driving the majority of demand. In March, we regained our position among the best-selling EVs in our segments. We also continued to make progress on our partnerships for our international distribution, including the official launch of our first retail partnership in Europe, which allows us to scale more quickly in a capital-efficient way. We expect the delivery trajectory to improve through the year.
Near-term demand signals are mixed, but we see tailwinds building into the second half. Apart from seasonality, which historically drives greater deliveries in second half, there are numerous other factors which may deliver a lift, including high gas prices, which tilt demand towards vehicles with more attractive operating costs, competitive dynamics, including exits from the Air and Gravity segments, these cycles, Lucid software updates, potential tariffs on European imports, and potential improvements in macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions. As a result, we continue to expect a back-end-weighted delivery profile for 2026, but are confident in the long-term trajectory of demand. Our priority now is consistent and predictable conversion of production into deliveries. Central to our framework to scale and drive profitable growth is the midsize platform.
The midsize platform brings Lucid’s signature range, efficiency, and driving experience to a much larger TAM and broader set of customers and is key to unlocking scale affordability and improved unit economics. At our recent Investor Day, we provided a clearer view of the future product portfolio with the expected pricing starting below $50,000, reinforcing Lucid’s entry into a more accessible segment of the market. I’m pleased to be able to share that our BOM cost position remains favorable, still tracking below our initial cost estimates. During the quarter, construction on M2 and installation of capital equipment continued, and we remain on track for production ramp-up of the midsize in 2027. Turning to our third priority, autonomy. In mid-April, we announced the expansion of our partnerships with Uber, increasing their total investment to $500 million and expanding the planned deployment to at least 35,000 Robotaxi vehicles.
This represents a meaningful increase in both scale and long-term visibility for the program, which generates a new revenue stream through a partnership approach that enables rapid speed to market in a new and rapidly growing market with minimal CapEx. I’m excited to share that we have met all milestones so far in our joint project with Nuro to provide autonomous Lucid Gravities to Uber for commercial launch by the end of the year, and remaining milestones are on track. We delivered 75 engineering vehicles, and testing and mileage accumulation is ongoing in several cities throughout the U.S. Starting in mid-April, Uber and Nuro employees are now able to test the end-to-end customer experience, including ordering a Robotaxi within the Uber app and choosing from select destinations for drop-off.
Our partners at Nuro have also received approval from the California DMV for driverless testing of the Lucid Gravity in the state, making it one of the only a handful of vehicles that have received such approval. This is a key step in paving the way for launching commercial autonomous operations later this year. Looking forward, we are targeting the following milestones as we track toward commercial Robotaxi operations in late 2026. This quarter, Lucid will start our production validation builds, which are intended to reflect our production intent design and some of the key Robotaxi features like exterior beaconing for customers, interior cameras, and consumer interfaces. This build is expected to be completed in Q3 and allows us to begin more comprehensive end-to-end testing with our partners, as well as homologation testing and validation.
Following the completion of testing in Q3, we anticipate starting regular production of Robotaxi vehicles for commercial sale in early Q4 at M1. As you can see, we are well on our way to achieving our goals with our Robotaxi program, and commercial launch is on track for late 2026. In parallel, we continue to expand advanced driver assistance features across our consumer vehicles. Over time, we expect these features to become an increasingly important source of recurring revenue, with subscription-based offerings being launched starting in 2027. In closing, Q1 highlighted areas where we still need to improve execution, and we are taking clear actions to address them. I’d like to close with a few personal words. It has been a privilege to serve as interim CEO. We delivered 2 years of consecutive record quarters when it comes to deliveries until the end of 2025.
We ramped the Gravity throughout 2025, resulting in a production increase of about 100% last year. We’ve navigated real headwinds, and the team’s ability to keep moving through them is something I’m proud of. We sharpened and expanded our strategy with a clear and capital-efficient approach to provide leading autonomy solutions both for Robotaxis and personally-owned vehicles. We made meaningful progress across our partnerships, including expanded commitments from both PIF and Uber. I’m confident in this team, in Silvio’s leadership, and in where Lucid is headed, and I’m looking forward to continue to contribute as chief operating officer. With that, let me hand over to Taoufiq.
Taoufiq Boussaid, Chief Financial Officer, Lucid Group: Thank you, Marc. I will walk you through the financial results for the quarter, the structural drivers behind them, and how recent actions position us to execute against the framework we laid out at Investor Day. Q1 was disrupted by a temporary stop sell, but the underlying business held, and in March, orders and deliveries rebounded. With roughly similar units delivered and lower regulatory credit sales, revenue grew by approximately 20% year-over-year to $282 million in Q1, driven primarily by mix and pricing effects from Gravity. Let me give you the context that makes this number more useful for thinking about Q2 and the rest of the year. We produced 5,500 vehicles in the quarter but delivered 3,093.
This gap reflects a combination of the impact of the temporary Lucid Gravity stop sell, during which finished vehicles sat in inventory pending validation rather than converting to revenue and segment contraction. A key highlight of the quarter was Uber’s expanded vehicle commitment and increased investment in Lucid. It matters for three reasons. It improves long-term revenue visibility, it de-risks the volume ramp into the midsize era, and it validates our vehicle platform as the reference point for commercial autonomy deployment. This is a durable addition to the capital structure and to the revenue outlook, not a one-time transaction. Gross margin for the quarter was -110.4% versus -80.7% in Q4 and -97.2% in Q1 a year ago. I want to be precise about the work because the composition matters more than the headline.
Three factors drove the sequential decline: lower delivery volume against a largely fixed manufacturing cost base, under absorption of fixed cost, and large regulatory credit revenue in Q4 that didn’t repeat in Q1. Partially offsetting these were IEEPA tariff refunds and a lower inventory write-down versus the prior quarter. These costs were tied directly to the stop sell. With that resolve, they don’t carry forward. What remains, and what we are focused on, is the structural trajectory, which includes, as shared at Investor Day, an average of 50%-60% reduction in unit cost over the coming years. While we saw unit cost spike during the quarter driven by temporary disruption, it trended back towards the targeted trajectory in March. As volumes scale into the second half and with the launch of the midsize vehicle platform, we expect continued structural improvement in unit economics.
I want to be clear, the underlying midterm trajectory of unit cost improvement that we described at Investor Day remains intact. Q1 does not alter it. Turning to operating expenses, this totaled approximately $678 million for the quarter. R&D was $336 million, down sequentially from $361 million, reflecting program-level sequencing even as we continue to fund the midsize platform and our autonomy stack. SG&A increased $22 million sequentially to $304 million, primarily driven by discrete items, including a prior quarter provision reversal. Excluding these items, underlying SG&A was broadly stable. Year-over-year, SG&A increased $92 million, with the comparison impacted by a $35 million non-cash benefit in the prior year related to the reversal of stock-based compensation.
These numbers also don’t yet capture the $500 million in saving expected from our recently announced headcount actions over the next 3 years, with the near-term impact most significant. Taken together, our posture on operating expenses is straightforward: protect the investments that build long-term competitive advantage, midsize, autonomy, software, and drive discipline everywhere else. Net loss for the quarter was approximately $1 billion compared to $366 million in the 1st quarter of 2025. The increase reflects the gross margin dynamics we discussed, continued investment in the business, particularly the midsize platform, and higher SG&A, with the year-over-year comparison impacted by a discrete benefit in the prior year.
A significant portion of the year-over-year change is driven by non-cash and non-operating items, including a $274 million unfavorable change in the fair value of derivative liabilities related to movements in our stock price, as well as lower interest income and higher interest expense. As mentioned, it does not reflect the benefits of our recent headcount actions, nor more recently launched cost takeout initiatives. Net loss in any quarter reflects non-cash and non-operating items that move significantly with our stock price. The operating loss and cash consumption metrics give a cleaner read on trajectory. Our focus remains on improving operating leverage as we scale volumes and continue to drive cost discipline across the business.
Turning to liquidity and capital structure, we ended the quarter with approximately $700 million in cash and cash equivalent and total liquidity of approximately $3.2 billion. Subsequent to quarter end, we executed a series of transactions that strengthen our balance sheet. $200 million of equity investment of common stock from Uber, $300 million from a registered common stock offering, and $550 million in convertible preferred stock from PIF. In addition, PIF and Lucid announced an amendment to our delayed draw term loan, providing greater flexibility and approximately $2 billion of available liquidity following a $500 million draw on April first. Giving effect to the capital raise and DDTL increase, total liquidity would have been approximately $4.7 billion at quarter end.
This extends our operating runway into the second half of 2027 and gives us the flexibility to fund Gravity ramp, AMP2 construction, and launch preparation, and continued investment in the midsize program and autonomy stack. On the question of dilution, which I know is on investor minds, the recent financing was structured deliberately to balance liquidity needs against dilution considerations. The convertible preferred structure with PIF reflects that balance, as does the sizing of the common equity component. We will continue to evaluate all financing options, including the public markets, when the appropriate conditions materialize, and our bias is toward disciplined capital deployment and with opportunistic raises. The strategic stockholder base around this company, anchored by PIF and now meaningfully reinforced by Uber, gives us a structural advantage in how we think about capital over the medium term.
On working capital and inventory, we also expect to see benefits to cash flow driven by improvements to working capital. Inventory stood at approximately $1.47 billion at quarter-end, up from approximately $1.1 billion at the prior quarter and elevated by the stop sell buildup. Deliveries normalize through the year and we draw down that inventory, you should expect a higher conversion into cash. Beyond the stop sell normalization, we are tightening production to delivery alignment as an ongoing operating discipline. The new production reporting methodology, which I will cover in a moment, supports that by improving transparency on the conversion step. We took over $200 million in inventory impairments in Q1. Going forward, we expect those to decline, as inventory reduces through the year, we expect to benefit from impairment releases. I mentioned our new production reporting methodology.
I want to take a moment on this change to how we report production. Starting this quarter, we are moving our production metric to a process complete definition, meaning we count a vehicle once it has completed the factory gating process, regardless of whether it ships as a complete unit or in a semi-knocked down form. This change better reflects true quarterly production and reduces the volatility that the prior methodology introduced due to shipment logistics. It has no impact on inventory or days on hand reporting, both of which remain based on finished deliverable vehicles. The effect for investors is greater comparability with peers and a cleaner signal on underlying operational cadence. Under the new methodology, the normal auto industry seasonality, Q2 strongest based on working days, Q1 and Q4 softer due to holidays and plant shutdowns, will appear more visibly in our reported numbers.
Now let me address our outlook and guidance. With Silvio now on board and conducting his review of the business, we are suspending our prior guidance and will provide a full updated outlook at our Q2 earnings call. I want to be clear, this is a governance decision. Near-term demand conditions remain uneven, and we are managing our production cadence accordingly. Our 2026 objective is unchanged. We continue to work to closely align production with demand to avoid excess inventory. We are not constrained on capacity. We are constrained by our own discipline not to build inventory ahead of demand. As market conditions develop, we will scale production accordingly. We have launched a company-wide program to sharpen operational efficiency, reduce costs, and concentrate capital on the highest return opportunities.
Q1 cash performance was affected by the stop sell action and the associated inventory reset, which we expect to normalize as we move forward. We are focused on restoring consistent cash generation and building a more durable operating foundation. Production of our first midsize vehicle is expected to ramp throughout 2027, and our Lucid Gravity Robotaxi program in partnership with Uber and Nuro remains on schedule for launch in late 2026. In closing, to put the quarter in perspective, we strengthened our balance sheet, expanded the strategic partnership that improves long-term visibility, and are implementing reporting changes that improve transparency. A temporary stop sell in February was resolved, and we have taken action to address the root cause. The Investor Day framework holds. The path to profitability runs through scale from midsize cost reduction through M2 and improved mix and operating leverage.
Q1 does not change that trajectory. It reinforces the importance of disciplined execution, and that is where our focus is. The fundamentals of this business, the technology, the product, and the strategic position we have built are intact. We are managing this period with discipline, and we intend to emerge from it in a stronger competitive position. With that, let me turn it over to the operator for your questions.
Operator: Thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer session by taking questions submitted to the Say Technologies platform.
Nick Twork, Vice President of Communications, Lucid Group: Our first question comes from Saravanan R. How does management plan to restore shareholder confidence and address concerns about bankruptcy or potential take-private scenario?
Marc Winterhoff, Interim CEO / Chief Operating Officer, Lucid Group: First, I want you to know that we hear your frustration, and restoring your confidence is of our utmost importance to us. We are focused on rebuilding your confidence through disciplined execution, transparency, and measurable progress against key operational financial milestones. The business is moving from a period of heavy investment toward a phase where we can begin to leverage those assets at greater scale. We ended 2025 having scaled production, improved unit economics, and maintained liquidity. Yes, we’ve been hit with an unforeseen operational disruption in Q1, which we solved, and deliveries and orders have rebounded towards the end of the quarter. We are focused on translating operational progress into more predictable financial profile. To your specific concerns, we do not speculate on market rumors or hypothetical strategic alternatives.
Our focus is on executing the plan we laid out, strengthening the company, and creating long-term value for shareholders.
Nick Twork, Vice President of Communications, Lucid Group: All right, our next question comes from Robbie S. When is Lucid going to turn a profit? What is the plan?
Taoufiq Boussaid, Chief Financial Officer, Lucid Group: At our Investor Day, we laid out a clear path to profitability. The target is gross margin breakeven in the midterm, building toward the mid-teens by late decade. On cash flow, we expect to reach positive free cash flow on a similar horizon. The levers to get there are straightforward. It starts with improving fixed cost absorption as volume grow, continuing to bring down bill of material and manufacturing costs, scaling Lucid Gravity, launching the mid-size platform, and developing higher margin recurring revenue from software ADAS and autonomy. On the mid-size platform specifically, this is a meaningful expansion of our addressable market, and importantly, it has been designed from day 1 with cost, scale and manufacturability at its core.
Nick Twork, Vice President of Communications, Lucid Group: All right, the next question comes from Crystal M. Based on your current cash burn rate, how many quarters of runway does Lucid have without raising additional capital? What specific milestones must be met before then to avoid dilution?
Taoufiq Boussaid, Chief Financial Officer, Lucid Group: Based on our current cash burn and the recent financing activities we have taken, including the capital raise and the extension of the DDTL, we have founding runway into the second half of 2027. That gives us adequate flexibility to support the Gravity ramp, progress M2 construction, and continue targeted investment in both the midsize platform and our autonomy software. During this period, our focus is on executing the operational milestones that moves us toward breakeven and reduce our reliance on dilutive capital. That means disciplined execution of the Gravity launch, continued manufacturing efficiency gains, measured advancement of M2 aligned with demand, and sustained momentum on the midsize program. At the same time, we are actively pursuing top-line diversification to higher margin software and services, particularly around ADAS. On dilution, we are deliberate in how we approach capital raising.
We have consistently favored structures that limit near-term dilution and preserve optionality. The use of preferred convertibles being a good example of managing both timing and impact. Ultimately, the strongest answer to dilution is accelerating our path to breakeven because this is what opens up a much broader range of financing alternatives.
Nick Twork, Vice President of Communications, Lucid Group: That concludes the questions from the Say Technologies platform. We’ll turn it over to the operator for live questions.
Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, as a reminder to ask the question, please press star one one on your telephone, then wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Our first question comes from the line of Michael Ward with Citigroup. Your line is open.
Michael Ward, Analyst, Citigroup: Thank you very much. Good afternoon, everyone. Can you share any volume targets for M2 for 2027? It sounds like it’s gonna be a gradual type launch throughout the year, and I’m just wondering if the launch is better than expected, does that liquidity take you into 2028?
Marc Winterhoff, Interim CEO / Chief Operating Officer, Lucid Group: The targets on the volume we actually revealed at the Investor Day, and they have not changed.
Michael Ward, Analyst, Citigroup: Right.
Marc Winterhoff, Interim CEO / Chief Operating Officer, Lucid Group: So the-
Michael Ward, Analyst, Citigroup: They have not changed. Okay.
Marc Winterhoff, Interim CEO / Chief Operating Officer, Lucid Group: They have not changed. No, no. We are really laser-focused on that ramp.
Michael Ward, Analyst, Citigroup: Okay. The second thing I would ask is, as it relates to the Robotaxis, are the volume deliveries to Uber depending on them getting certified or is there some sort of a schedule for those volume numbers to start to accelerate?
Marc Winterhoff, Interim CEO / Chief Operating Officer, Lucid Group: Well, it’s basically actually Nuro getting the certification. As we just mentioned.
Michael Ward, Analyst, Citigroup: That’s Nuro. Right?
Marc Winterhoff, Interim CEO / Chief Operating Officer, Lucid Group: They make a very good progress on that. We are on track. With this, I mean, still you have to have final certification to be able to do this, for instance, when we start in the Bay Area here in California. So far, all the development and the certifications are moving as we expected.
Michael Ward, Analyst, Citigroup: Good news. Thank you very much.
Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Andrew Percoco with Morgan Stanley.
Andrew Percoco, Analyst, Morgan Stanley: Great. Thanks so much for taking the questions. Maybe if I can start out on the, you know, the free cash flow expectations and just your general commentary around having sufficient liquidity through or at least until the second half of 2027. Can you just maybe help provide a little bit more context around what some of the underlying assumptions are within that? You know, I understand that you guys are pulling the delivery guidance for the year for some governance reasons, but if there’s anything you can kind of provide in terms of what your underlying assumptions are around demand, that would be super helpful. Thank you.
Taoufiq Boussaid, Chief Financial Officer, Lucid Group: Hi, Andrew Percoco. I think that the first answer to your question is that you need to recall that there is a typical seasonality in the company, and that we see a significantly improved cash flows during or the, on the back end of the year. We shouldn’t do any read-through of the cash performance as of Q1 because of two specific events. The first one is the stop sell, which has led to higher cash burn, and we are saying that we will be recovering that. The second element that you need to take into account is the typical seasonality with a step-up in the sales towards Q3 and Q4, which is helping us to manage the cash burn.
We haven’t guided specifically for the cash burn. We have guided for the runway. The statement remains unchanged, so we will be providing more visibility on that when we will reaffirm the guidance in Q2.
Andrew Percoco, Analyst, Morgan Stanley: Okay. Understood. Maybe just my follow-up is just around the commodity cost environment. You know, a lot of your OEM peers are continuing to highlight some pressures there this year and into next year. You know, can you just maybe provide an update in terms of what you’re seeing? I think you guys in the past have said that you’ve at least hedged or contracted out some of that commodity exposure. To what extent are you seeing any kind of incremental pressure there and might that impact that path to profitability?
Marc Winterhoff, Interim CEO / Chief Operating Officer, Lucid Group: Actually, right now that is very limited. I mean, Yes, there have been increases over the last couple of months on certain raw materials like aluminum. Very recently, for instance, we haven’t actually seen an increase. The other topic is the DRAM, which hits the whole industry. Even that, I mean, is compared to the rest of the BOM cost of the vehicle, you know, a small amount. We don’t see a major impact compared to where we ended end of last year right now.
Andrew Percoco, Analyst, Morgan Stanley: Thanks, guys. Appreciate it.
Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Ben Kallo with Baird. Your line is open.
Ben Kallo, Analyst, Baird: Hey, thanks for taking my question. Just maybe the first one, could you maybe talk more about the sales partnerships, which I guess will be very important, especially as you introduce the midsize vehicle. You mentioned one in Europe.
Marc Winterhoff, Interim CEO / Chief Operating Officer, Lucid Group: Yeah. I mean, what we’re doing there is we’re basically extending our approach there from a pure direct-to-consumer model into, you know, also partnering either with dealerships in an agency model, for instance, within Germany, so in areas where we already have a D2C network, or with importers in new markets that we are entering right now. We are in the midst of all this process and, you know, recently launched the first agent in addition to our D2C outlets in Germany, which gives us from one day to the other two additional, you know, cities to cover. We have numerous LOIs. I think the recent number is, like, 12 LOIs that are, you know, we’re pushing forward and hopefully get to a contract situation and launch very, very soon.
It allows us to much faster grow within, the areas and the countries we are already in, for instance, in Germany or in the Netherlands, or, you know, expand into new countries, through an importership, where you then use existing infrastructure and existing business relationships of those importers to scale much faster.
Ben Kallo, Analyst, Baird: Great. Thank you for that. Just on the review, Silvio’s review, could you maybe talk if possible, just about the timing and when we should expect, you know, another update? Or, is there not a lot of certainty in that for now? Thank you.
Silvio Napoli, Incoming CEO, Lucid Group: Yes. Thank you, Ben. I think at the moment I’m getting to the position. I would say as of Q2, we should start somehow getting a sense of where we are. In terms of by when I’ll be ready to give a plan, et cetera, this I think is something I’ll discuss with the board at the earliest opportunity.
Ben Kallo, Analyst, Baird: Great. Fair. Have a good evening. Thanks, guys.
Silvio Napoli, Incoming CEO, Lucid Group: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Andres Sheppard with Cantor Fitzgerald. Your line is open.
Andres Sheppard, Analyst, Cantor Fitzgerald: Hey, everyone. Good afternoon, thank you so much for taking our questions. Congratulations on the quarter. Just wanted to maybe take a brief moment to thank Marc Winterhoff and congratulate him on all his great efforts over the past two years. First question, I just wanted to clarify on the guidance. Just to be clear, you’ll give us an update in Q2 regarding the production guidance, as well as the CapEx guidance. Just to be clear as well, the midsize timing, Robotaxi timing, and also the medium term goals, those are all on track and unchanged? Just wanted to clarify. Thank you.
Marc Winterhoff, Interim CEO / Chief Operating Officer, Lucid Group: On the midsize, this is also what we guided before, so that is also subject to the suspension right now. I think what is important to understand is that, you know, what really counts is the ramp up in 2027, and that’s what remains unchanged. As I said in the beginning, you know, the volumes that we’re looking at is, you know, unchanged. On the start of production, that’s something that, you know, we will guide after review with Silvio and the team then by the end of Q2. I also want to point out that when we talk about the start of production, that is less impactful actually than the ramp. Yeah.
I mean, we’ve seen this, you probably remember, you know, with the Gravity where we had an SOP, but then we weren’t able to ramp as we intended to. That is something, you know, that we definitely absolutely want to avoid, and that’s why we want to review everything and make the right decision for the business.
Andres Sheppard, Analyst, Cantor Fitzgerald: Wonderful. Okay. That’s super helpful. Thank you. Maybe just as a quick follow-up, I wanted to touch again on the second production facility, the one in Saudi. Just given the geopolitical conflict still going on, do you foresee any bottlenecks or any issues to the timeline for the construction there, or is that on track? Just any updates there will be helpful. Thank you.
Marc Winterhoff, Interim CEO / Chief Operating Officer, Lucid Group: Well, so far, I mean, it is going, and we have never stopped doing it. I mean, we had a few delays when it comes to arrival of equipment to be installed, but our team was able to mitigate that. Yeah, on that as well, we will update at the end of Q2, but so far we haven’t seen any impact.
Andres Sheppard, Analyst, Cantor Fitzgerald: Wonderful. Thank you so much, and congrats again. We’ll pass it on.
Operator: Thank you. As a reminder, ladies and gentlemen, that’s star one one to ask the question. Please stand by for our next question. Our next question comes from the line of James Picariello with BNP Paribas. Your line is open.
Jake (James Picariello), Analyst, BNP Paribas: Hey guys, this is Jake on for James. First, could you give us some idea of the split between the Gravity and Air deliveries in the first quarter? Approximately how many units were pushed from the first quarter into the second by the stop sell?
Taoufiq Boussaid, Chief Financial Officer, Lucid Group: I mean, as we said in the past, the majority of our deliveries are now the gravity. We don’t, you know, give a direct, you know, projection on that. I mean, on the average selling price, maybe can reverse engineer the math somehow. When it comes to, you know, how many sales are being pushed into the second quarter, that’s actually a number that I don’t have handy, right now. I mean, the numbers of deliveries and orders are rebounded, in March significantly. That exact number I don’t have handy.
Jake (James Picariello), Analyst, BNP Paribas: All right. Thank you. Then, thinking a little bit longer term, you guys are targeting break-even free cash by the end of the decade. Right now, your $4.7 billion in liquidity gets you into the second half of 2027. Is there any way to think about your total liquidity need to get, you know, from the second half of 2027 till 2029 or 2030? Thank you.
Taoufiq Boussaid, Chief Financial Officer, Lucid Group: Well, I mean, James, you asked us the same question during the Investor Day. I understand that it’s a very important point for you. Again, the key data points that we have. We have a trajectory of how we will be rebuilding the gross margin and how it will be progressing over the years. It’s a very important data point for you to assess. We have also communicated the details around the different levers for us to reach the break-even and the rough timing to get there. I think that our historical and future delivery of the key milestones will allow you to do a calibration of what it would mean, and it will help you estimate the additional capital requirement which is required.
Having said that, I would like to re-emphasize two very important points. What we have said is that the important component of the cash burn is related to the CapEx in AMP, in AMP2. We have also shared our trajectory in terms of CapEx reduction. We will have a steep decline after 2027, and as a consequence of that, we will see a significant reduction of the cash requirements that will be needed for the plan. Over time, the cash burn profile in itself will have to change and evolve. Again, I’m sharing some of the important data points. We have not historically been in a position to provide the exact quantification. We obviously have a plan.
What is really important is the milestones and how we’re executing against some of these important targets, milestones, be it in gross margin, be it in terms of reducing the CapEx and accelerating the trajectory to the break-even.
Jake (James Picariello), Analyst, BNP Paribas: All right. Thanks, guys.
Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, I am showing no further questions in the queue. That concludes today’s conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.