There hasn't been a lot of good news in the electric vehicle (EV) industry lately. First, EV makers struggled to accelerate production, then struggled to bring costs down, and now they are struggling to sell vehicles in a high-interest-rate environment.
While many EV makers are facing cash crunches, unless they have traditional gasoline-powered lineups to lean on, Lucid(NASDAQ: LCID) received a little good news on that front – let's dig in.
To the rescue
At a time when Fisker shares were suspended from trading and the NYSE started the process to delist the stock, and talks had broken down between Fisker and a major automaker for a lifeline, rival Lucid is receiving a little relief.
Shares of Lucid jumped Monday after news spread that it secured a $1 billion investment from an affiliate of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF). Shares jumped as high as 16% pre-market opening before cooling off a little during trading.
More specifically, Ayar Third Investment company will buy $1 billion in convertible preferred stock, which represents roughly 12% of Lucid's issued and outstanding common stock, and the PIF will still have a 60% stake in the EV maker. Lucid intends to use the proceeds for corporate purposes, among other things.
What's next?
This move will help keep Lucid afloat during a slowdown in the U.S. EV industry. During Lucid's fourth-quarter financial presentation, management noted it had sufficient liquidity "at least until 2025." Lucid ended the fourth quarter with almost $4.8 billion in total liquidity.
What investors likely see with this move is more assurance that Lucid will be able to launch its Gravity crossover later this year. Lucid forecast roughly $1.5 billion in capital spending in 2024, in part to launch the new crossover.
Is Lucid stock a buy?
There's no sugarcoating that 2024 is likely to be a rough year for EV makers. Fisker is potentially at the end of its rope currently, and there's likely to be more consolidation and cash crunches going forward. Lucid needs to successfully launch the Gravity to have a chance at long-term success, and the $1 billion investment helps assure that launch, but the stock remains highly speculative.
There are safer EV plays in the market, and Fisker is a reminder of how quickly things can fall apart for these young automakers.
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Daniel Miller has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
