Lucid Motors has achieved a record number of deliveries in the first quarter of 2025, with 3,109 electric vehicles shipped to customers across North America, Europe, and Saudi Arabia. This milestone is largely attributed to a new company car program and sales to rental fleets.

As stated in a footnote of Lucid Motors’ latest regulatory filing, the company sold approximately 300 vehicles to “rental companies” during the quarter. However, Nick Twork, a spokesperson for Lucid Motors, clarified in an email that the majority of these vehicles were actually sold to leasing companies as part of a revamped company car program and then leased back to the automaker.

Twork explained, “As part of the normal course of business, we leverage fleet transactions whenever we see a good opportunity that is in the best interest of our business.” This strategy allowed Lucid Motors to surpass its fourth-quarter 2024 delivery numbers by 100 vehicles, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of increased deliveries.

Notably, this achievement comes despite the challenging start to the year, with industry leaders Tesla and Rivian experiencing significant declines in deliveries. Lucid’s success can be seen as a positive sign, especially considering the company’s history of struggling to establish a market for its luxury sedan, the Air.

The company is now pinning its hopes on its first SUV, the Gravity, which is expected to be shipped in larger volumes in the second half of the year. Interim CEO Marc Winterhoff celebrated the record deliveries during the company’s earnings call, stating, “Many of our customers continue to tell us that once they experience a Lucid, it’s hard to go back.”

Parsing the numbers

Although Lucid has not provided an exact breakdown of the numbers, it reported $27.2 million in vehicle sales to “rental companies” in the first quarter. By dividing the company’s revenue for the quarter ($235 million) by the deliveries (3,109), it can be estimated that the average selling price is around $75,590, implying that around 360 EVs were sold to rental and leasing companies.

This appears to be an increase from previous years, with the company selling $34.7 million worth of cars to rental companies in all of 2024 and $9.1 million in 2023. However, these sales do not seem to have had a significant impact on the company’s revenue, as Lucid does not immediately book revenue on cars sold to rental companies due to repurchase obligations.

Lucid’s partnership with rental companies, such as Sixt and Enterprise, has been ongoing, but the extent of its impact on delivery figures was previously unclear. The company’s first EV, the Air, has faced challenges in the market, including declining sedan sales and price cuts by competitors like Tesla.

Former CEO Peter Rawlinson acknowledged in 2023 that the company faced a demand problem, stating, “[T]oo few people are aware of not just the car, but even the company.” Interim CEO Winterhoff has since emphasized the need to boost marketing efforts, with the company spending $3.5 million on sales and marketing in the first quarter and planning to increase this investment.