Saudi's PIF-backed Lucid Motors makes trading debut on Nasdaq

Listed under the new ticker symbol “LCID”, the listing came about following the merger of Lucid and Churchill Capital Corp. IV — a special purpose acquisition company — on July 23. The EV firm will begin trading by ringing the Nasdaq opening bell on July 26.

The deal will help Lucid raise $4.4 billion, which will be used to fast track its production growth plans. The firm has over 11,000 paid reservations for its Lucid Air vehicle, which is on scheduled to start deliveries in the second half of this year.

“We are on track to meet our projected deliveries for the next two years, and we look forward to delighting our customers around the world with the best electric vehicles ever created,” Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO of Lucid Group, said in a press statement.

Michael S. Klein, chairman and CEO of Churchill Capital Corp. IV, said ahead of the merger: “Lucid has industry-leading technology, clear demand for its products, and is on track to deliver revenue-generating cars to customers in the second half of this year. We are excited to support Lucid’s transition into a public company and confident in its ability to address unmet needs in the automotive industry, which is moving toward electrification at a rapid pace and on a global scale.”

PIF announced its investment in Lucid Motors in Sept. 2018. The Lucid Motors CEO told Arab News in January that his team were scrutinizing possible locations in Saudi Arabia to open retail outlets — what Lucid calls “studios” — for their luxury EVs.

“We are already looking,” he said. “My retail team just returned from a scouting trip in the Kingdom, and that is very much on the road there. Hopefully, we can get a retail outlet there right at the tail end of 2021, probably early 2022.”

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia stands to record a profit of nearly $20 billion on the back of its investment in Lucid.

PIF will own over 60 percent of the company, which is expected to have a market capitalization of about $36 billion.

Lucid’s expected market capitalization is nearly twice the valuation of Nissan Motor Co. and about two-thirds that of Ford Motor Co., which delivered more than 4 million cars last year. Lucid has yet to sell any cars.

Looking at the market for EVs, a report by the Pew Research Center found that 7 percent of respondents said they currently owned an electric or hybrid vehicle, and 39 percent said they were very or somewhat likely to buy an EV when they next came to purchase.

Interest has grown, with 1.8 million EVs registered in the US in 2020, more than three times as many as four years ago, according to the International Energy Agency.

While the US accounts for 17 percent of the world’s 10.2 million EVs, China is the biggest market, with 44 percent of all cars and Europe following with 31 percent.