Shares of EV start-up Lucid surge as much as 47% after confirming deliveries of its first car

Shares of electric vehicle start-up Lucid Group surged by as much as 47% during trading Thursday, a day after the company confirmed the first customer deliveries of its $169,000 Air Dream Edition sedan would begin Saturday.

Lucid’s stock hit $39.78 a share – its highest point since the company went public through a SPAC deal on July 26 – before retreating to close at $35.48 a share, up by 31.3%. The price remains far below its 52-week high of nearly $65 a share in February when it was reported that Lucid was nearing a deal with blank-check company Churchill Capital IV Corp. to go public.

The company invited select Air Dream Edition reservation holders to pick up their cars at its headquarters in California. Lucid did not disclose how many people were invited to the event.

The customer deliveries come about a month after Lucid started production of its first cars for customers at its new factory in Casa Grande, Ariz. At that time, Lucid said customer deliveries were expected to begin in late-October.

A company spokesman declined to say how many vehicles Lucid has built so far, but he said the automaker will continue to increase production of the car.

In total, Lucid has said it plans to deliver 520 customer-configured Lucid Air Dream Editions, followed by deliveries of lower-priced models. Lucid told investors in July that it expects to produce 20,000 Lucid Air sedans in 2022, generating more than $2.2 billion in revenue, according to an investor presentation.

The Dream Edition is a $169,000 special edition of its flagship sedan, with an industry-leading range of up to 520 miles, according to the EPA. Pricing for an entry-level version of the car, the Lucid Air sedan, starts at $77,400 before an up to $7,500 federal tax credit for plug-in vehicles.

Lucid on Thursday also scheduled its first earnings report and call for investors since going public. The event is scheduled for Nov. 15.