Lucid Motors’ staging lots at its Casa Grande, Arizona factory were nearly full of unsold vehicles on December 1, according to drone footage captured by a customer awaiting delivery.
The struggling electric vehicle maker, which saw its shares reach a new record low last month, is working to reach an already twice-reduced production target of 18,000 vehicles for 2025.
The YouTuber user ‘LucidFlys’ noted a significant buildup of both Gravity SUVs and Air sedans across multiple parking areas at the Arizona plant, with inventory levels markedly higher than his previous flyover conducted October 29.
Several former employee parking areas have been converted to vehicle storage to accommodate the growing backlog, according to the Lucid Air owner who is waiting for taking delivery of the Gravity model.
“It’s pretty apparent that production is ramping up quite rapidly,” the customer who filmed the footage said in accompanying commentary.
“Based on what I’m seeing or saw today, I’m pretty confident that Lucid will be able to hit their production goals of 18,000 for the year,” he stated. “I’m not sure how they’ll do with deliveries because there is a lot of inventory at the factory today.”
Incentives to Clear Inventory
Just three days before the December 1 flyover, Lucid launched a limited-time discount to accelerate sales.
The company announced November 28 it would offer $3,000 off Gravity SUVs and $2,000 off Air sedans from inventory, valid through December 1 for vehicles delivered by year-end.
“The time is now for you to drive home the game-changing Lucid Gravity SUV,” the company said in an email to prospective customers.
The offer applied exclusively to vehicles already in stock, suggesting the EV maker was prioritizing inventory reduction over new orders as the quarter closes.
The four-day promotion expired the same day the customer footage documented the swollen staging lots.
Supply Chain Disruptions
The inventory accumulation comes after Lucid navigated what Interim CEO Marc Winterhoff described last month as “three consecutive industry-wide supply chain crises” over the past six months that disrupted the company’s production plans.
“Over the last six months, we have contended with three consecutive industry-wide supply chain crises: magnets, aluminum, chips,” Winterhoff said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call in November. “These are crises that set even far bigger competitors on their heels.”
The magnet shortage in the second quarter proved particularly disruptive, forcing Lucid to temporarily shift production from the Gravity Grand Touring trim intended for North America to the Touring trim for export to Saudi Arabia.
The magnets available were incompatible with Lucid‘s NACS Boost Charging Drive units designed for the Grand Touring model.
“Unfortunately, that impacted our Q3 production and numbers simply because of the additional transport time needed,” Winterhoff said.
A subsequent fire at the company’s aluminum supplier threatened to shut down production entirely, though Lucid minimized the impact through its vertical integration strategy.
A chip supply shortage followed immediately after, affecting the broader automotive industry.
Production Ramp and Inventory Mix
The December 1 footage shows Gravity SUVs and Air sedans mixed throughout the factory’s staging areas, a departure from previous months when Gravity inventory was concentrated primarily on the north side of the facility.
Air sedans — rarely seen in staging lots in recent years — now appear alongside the newer SUV model across multiple parking areas, according to ‘LucidFlys.’
Lucid is currently producing Gravity in four exterior colors: Aurora Green, Abyss Black, Stellar White, and Supernova Bronze.
Lunar Titanium, a fifth color option, is not planned until sometime next year.
Arizona X Saudi Arabia
The footage shows car carriers arriving at the facility to transport vehicles, with a separate staging area visible near the company’s semi-knockdown assembly operation holding vehicles designated for export to Saudi Arabia.
There, the EV maker will assemble the vehicles and deliver in across its Middle East markets.
As reported earlier this Wednesday, Lucid is preparing to open its third showroom in Saudi Arabia — marking the fifth in the region.
Lucid began customer deliveries of the Gravity in April after initial units went to employees, friends, and family in the final days of 2024.
The company initially targeted 20,000 vehicles for 2025 before reducing guidance twice to the current 18,000-unit production goal.
November Sales
As reported on Tuesday, Lucid saw its US sales rise for the second consecutive month in November despite the expiration of the $7,500 EV Tax Credit.
The company had sold 910 vehicles across the US in September while in October the figures rose both sequentially and year over year to 935 units.
