Lucid postpones mid-size EV launch to 2027
Silvio Napoli, the new CEO of US electric car manufacturer Lucid, has delayed the launch of the company's new mid-size platform from late 2026 to the second half of 2027. Additionally, the highly deficit-ridden company aims to save $1.4 billion this year as part of an 'operational restart.'
During the presentation of its financial results for the second quarter of 2026, Lucid unveiled a transformation programme dubbed ‘Back to Basics’. The company aims to save $1.4 billion this year by reducing operating costs, capital expenditure and working capital. The programme focuses on three priorities: liquidity and costs, customers and quality, and culture and team.
Under its new CEO Silvio Napoli, Lucid Motors is pursuing a new direction. Napoli, who previously led Swiss lift manufacturer Schindler, cut around 18 per cent of the workforce at the end of June as part of the company’s cost reduction efforts. The California-based EV maker continues to post significant losses. Its latest quarterly results show a cumulative loss of $17.67 billion since the company was founded, including a net loss of $1.26 billion in the second quarter of 2026. Revenue reached $405 million in the same period, up 56 per cent year-on-year, but remained roughly one-third of the quarterly loss.
Low volumes, high costs, low revenue
One of Lucid’s biggest challenges remains its low sales volume. In the second quarter, the manufacturer delivered 3,953 battery-electric vehicles across its two model lines, the Lucid Air and Lucid Gravity. That puts its sales slightly above those of premium brands such as Ferrari, but at considerably lower average selling prices and, consequently, lower revenue. At the same time, the company’s cost base remains high.
Lucid plans to broaden its portfolio beyond the premium segment with its upcoming mid-size platform. The company has already unveiled two models based on the architecture: the Lucid Cosmos and the Lucid Earth. Lucid positions the Cosmos as the sportier of the two. A third, as-yet-unnamed mid-size model is also planned. According to the manufacturer, it is intended to appeal to ‘active explorers’, suggesting a more functional, off-road-oriented vehicle.
However, Lucid has now significantly delayed the programme. While the first mid-size models, priced from below $50,000, were originally due to reach customers by the end of 2026, the company has postponed the launch to the second half of 2027.
Napoli announced the revised timeline during the conference call accompanying the latest quarterly results. He said the company will only launch the mid-size models once all processes and quality requirements have been met. According to Napoli, Lucid is delaying the programme because it previously lacked consistency and responded too slowly to quality issues, adding that substantial work remains before the vehicles are ready for market.
Cold-weather testing in New Zealand
Nevertheless, Lucid reports progress in the introduction of its mid-size models: the Atlas drive units and prototype vehicles are already well advanced in their testing cycle, which includes cold-weather testing in New Zealand. Additionally, the battery packs have already achieved production maturity. The next key steps include building further prototypes and pre-production vehicles for quality assurance, completing regulatory procedures and homologation, and expanding manufacturing validation.
“The way we operate has to change,” Napoli said. “While there is no question that Lucid brought leading innovations and outstanding products to the market, we have disappointed on several fronts, and for far too long. We have not executed consistently, we miss commitments, launched products before they were ready, underinvested in service, responded too slowly to quality issues, and allowed complexity to slow decisions down.”