Lucid launches lower-priced Gravity Touring SUV trim to broaden luxury EV reach

What happened

Lucid Group announced the Lucid Gravity Touring, a new trim in its three-row luxury electric SUV lineup, with U.S. pricing starting at $79,900 and a public debut scheduled for the 2025 Los Angeles International Auto Show. This launch adds a more accessible variant beneath earlier Gravity configurations, aiming to expand the addressable customer base in the core premium SUV segment that management is counting on to drive volume growth. Strategically, the Touring trim supports Lucid’s plan to nearly double production to ~18,000–20,000 units in 2025 by deepening the Gravity lineup and potentially improving factory utilization at AMP-1 as supply constraints ease. The move also reinforces Lucid’s brand messaging around high-efficiency, high-tech EVs by offering the Gravity experience at a lower entry price, while still competing directly with premium SUV offerings from Tesla, Rivian, and German OEMs. However, the incremental trim adds complexity to an already execution-heavy ramp and could pressure per-unit margins if mix skews toward the lower-priced configuration in a discount-prone luxury EV market.

Implication

For investors, the introduction of a $79,900 Gravity Touring trim modestly de-risks the demand side of Lucid’s 2025 plan by positioning Gravity more competitively within the luxury SUV price band, which should support showroom traffic and backlog conversion. If the Touring variant can scale without significant discounting, higher Gravity volumes could accelerate fixed-cost absorption at AMP-1 and help narrow operating losses, an important prerequisite for bending Lucid’s negative free-cash-flow trajectory. That said, a richer mix of lower-priced units may dilute gross margins unless Lucid can offset with cost reductions, technology licensing revenue, or future higher-margin trims and options. The announcement does not alter the core risks highlighted in the DeepValue report—namely, an early-stage Gravity ramp, elevated capex and cash burn, and ongoing dependence on external financing and Saudi backing. Net-net, the Gravity Touring is a constructive but incremental step within an execution-sensitive story, supporting a neutral stance while sharpening the focus on 2025 delivery, mix, and margin data points as key valuation drivers.

Thesis delta

This news slightly improves our confidence that Lucid can stimulate Gravity demand and support its ambitious 2025 production guidance by offering a more accessible trim, but it does not change our overall HOLD/NEUTRAL stance. We view the launch as a small positive tilt to the Gravity ramp thesis, with potential volume and brand benefits offset by unresolved margin and liquidity risks that still dominate the equity narrative.