March 12 (Reuters) - Lucid expects to turn cash flow positive late this decade, the EV maker said on Thursday, as it laid out its roadmap for affordable cars and autonomy, including unveiling a two-seater robotaxi concept without a steering wheel and pedals.
Lucid, known for its luxury Air sedans and Gravity SUVs, is also racing to roll out later this year a mid-size electric vehicle platform that it said would drive annual deliveries up to about 100,000 in the medium term.
But the plans, laid out at Lucid's investor day event in New York, come as a reversal of EV-friendly policies in the U.S. and rising competition in Europe hurt EV demand, and failed to impress nervous investors. Lucid shares closed down nearly 8% on Thursday.
Last month, Lucid, which like many of its rivals has been grappling with various supply chain bottlenecks and high U.S. tariffs on auto part imports, forecast slower growth in 2026 production after reporting a larger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss.
"We are most concerned about the company's liquidity situation," RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan wrote in a note after the event, adding that it will likely need additional financing soon. "As such, there could be limitations on how much it can raise from its partners," Narayan wrote.
Lucid has been working on cutting costs and, on Thursday, forecast a 50% to 60% reduction in unit costs in the medium term. Capital spending as a percentage of revenue is also set to fall by 2028, it said.
AUTONOMOUS TECH SUBSCRIPTIONS, ROBOTAXI PLANS
While developing autonomous systems for personal vehicles and robotaxis is costly, the efforts, if successful, could become high-margin revenue streams.
Lucid has partnered with Uber and U.S.-based startup Nuro to commercialize a robotaxi based on its Gravity SUVs this year.
The unveiling of the robotaxi concept deepens Lucid's push into fully autonomous vehicles, putting it in direct competition with Tesla's Cybercab as automakers race to build a driverless future. The company did not provide more details on the timeline or pricing.
Elon Musk-led Tesla said last month its first Cybercab had officially rolled off the production line at its Gigafactory in Texas. Tesla expects to begin mass production of Cybercab in April.
Lucid's monthly subscription for its self-driving technology would be priced between $69 and $199 depending on the level of autonomous driving capability a customer chooses, the EV maker said.
Last month, Tesla shifted to a subscription plan for Full Self-Driving at $99. Rivian launched its in-house driver assistance system at $49.99 per month or $2,500 as a one-time purchase.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; Editing by Leroy Leo and Jamie Freed)
