Lucid Motors set company records for delivery in the first quarter of 2025, shipping 3,109 EVs to customers in North America, Europe and Saudi Arabia. The new company’s automotive program and sales to the rental fleet seemed to have helped them get there.
According to footnotes in Lucid Motors’ latest regulatory submission, it sold about 300 cars to what it called a quarterly “rental companies.” Lucid Motors spokesperson Nick Twork said in an email that despite the terminology, the “majority” of the vehicles mentioned in the footnotes have been sold to leasing companies and leased to the automaker as part of the improved company CAR CARCH program.
“As part of our regular business course, we take advantage of fleet transactions whenever we see a good opportunity for the best profits of our business,” he said.
With first-quarter sales to leasing and rental companies, Lucid Motors was able to beat the number of vehicles delivered in 100 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2024, marking the five consecutive quarters of which the company’s delivery increased. This is despite the fact that the beginning of the calendar year is often a tough stretch for car sales. For example, industry leaders Tesla and Libian saw a dramatic decline in delivery as they each began the year.
Lucid’s record-breaking lodging follows years of a company struggling to set up the market for its luxury sedan The Air. The company has locked high hopes into its first SUV, The Gravity, and is expected to ship in large quantities later this year.
Interim CEO Mark Winterhoff celebrated the milestone at the beginning of the company’s revenue call last week. “Many of our customers say once you’ve experienced something clear, it’s difficult to get back,” he said.
Analyze numbers
It’s hard to say exactly how many cars Lucid has sold to leasing and rental companies. The company refused to analyse the numbers that were made available in regulatory submissions. To date, we have reported the dollar value of vehicles sold this way.
Lucid said in its first quarter submission it sold $27.2 million worth of vehicles to the “rental company” in the first quarter. Dividing Rucid’s revenue for the quarter ($235 million) by delivery (3,109) suggests that the company’s average selling price could be around $75,590.
Whatever the exact number is, it seems to be an increase. For reference, the company wrote that it sold $34.7 million worth of cars to rental companies in all 2024. In a previous filing, Lucid said it sold $9.1 million worth of its value in 2023.
The sales may have helped tally quarterly delivery, but they don’t seem to affect how much money the company has made.
Lucid says he won’t book the revenue from the cars he sells to the rental company any time elsewhere in the regulator because he is obliged to buy back those vehicles at a later date. Lucid only reserves revenue at that time. Still, you simply reserve the difference between the initial sales price and the repurchase price you agree to with the rental company as revenue.
It’s not that the secret Lucid is working with the rental company. In October 2024, the company announced that Germany-based Sixt had begun using Meido Airlines in its fleet of rental vehicles. There are also transactions with companies that are not widely publicized. However, up until the latest regulatory submissions, it was difficult to quantify how much rental sales had impacted Lucid’s overall shipping figures.
It is important to assess the customer demand for Lucid vehicles. Because the company’s first EV, AIR, has struggled to meet expectations for several reasons. The company began selling air in 2021 when the sedan was discontinued in North America. Lucid initially focused on the air of the most expensive version of the first two years of sale.
As these sales slowly rose, Tesla began cutting car prices to maintain the growth it had promised to Wall Street. These price cuts have had a domino effect on other car manufacturers selling EVs. Lucid began shipping the Air Pure, the sedan, the most affordable version of the sedan, in late 2023, with multiple price cuts to compete for sales.
Former CEO Peter Rawlinson was replaced earlier this year when he stepped down from the role – in 2023, he said “few people know not just cars, but even the company.”
Interim CEO Winterhoff says he wants to strengthen Lucid’s marketing efforts since he took over. The company spent $3.5 million on sales and marketing in the first quarter, and in a call last week, investors should expect it to increase.