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Cailianshe News, August 6 (Editor Li Lin/Intern Editor Chen Yujia)U.S. electric vehicle startup Lucid Motors announced on Monday that its largest shareholder, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), has provided it with an additional $1.5 billion in funding, providing critical financial support for the company to cope with slowing global demand and launch a mass-market SUV.

As part of this financing, PIF will purchase $750 million of convertible preferred shares and provide $750 million of deferred loans through its affiliated investment company Ayar.

This financing is another large investment after the PIF's $1 billion investment in March this year, bringing PIF's total investment in Lucid to about $8 billion. After the news was announced, Lucid's stock price rose 7% in after-hours trading.

However, Lucid's stock price has fallen 53% in the past 12 months, and the cumulative decline has reached 70% since it went public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger in July 2021.

Lucid founder and CEO Peter Rawlinson previously said that the company cannot always rely on shareholder "blood transfusions" and must find ways to reduce costs and increase sales.

Lucid's selling points are advanced battery technology and ultra-long driving range, but it currently only produces one model - the Air sedan, which costs nearly $70,000, making it difficult to gain widespread recognition in the current highly competitive electric vehicle market.

Rawlinson has high hopes for the Gravity SUV, which will be launched later this year, and believes that this model will expand the potential buyer base. However, the Gravity SUV is also positioned in the high-end market and is expected to cost about $80,000. In the long run, Lucid is designing a smaller and more affordable model, which is scheduled to be put into production in a new factory in Saudi Arabia in 2026.

On Monday, Lucid released its second-quarter earnings report, with revenue increasing by one-third year-on-year to $200 million, exceeding analysts' expectations; deliveries reached 2,394 vehicles, up 71% year-on-year. Lucid's net loss widened to $790 million in the second quarter, bringing its full-year net loss to $2.8 billion. Rawlinson said the company still plans to produce 9,000 vehicles this year.

However, Lucid's delivery data and production estimates are still far behind Tesla's 443,956 vehicles delivered in the second quarter.