The long-struggling Tesla rival Lucid Motors has given its beleaguered shareholders reason for hope this week. The delivery numbers for the second quarter of 2024, released on Monday, provided a much-needed positive surprise.

Lucid Motors reported the delivery of 2,394 vehicles in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of around 70 percent compared to the previous year. This significant increase is mainly attributed to strategic price reductions and various incentives for the Air sedan introduced earlier in the year, according to "Teslarati.

In its AMP-1 factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, Lucid produced 2,110 vehicles, representing a slight decrease of three percent compared to the same period last year.

Despite the significant increase in deliveries, Lucid continues to lag behind other manufacturers. Tesla delivered 443,956 cars in the second quarter of 2024, while BYD was just behind with 426,039 fully electric vehicles. The 2,394 cars delivered by Lucid seem more than modest in comparison.

Lucid has not yet given up the fight with the EV giants. The increase in deliveries aligns with Lucid's aggressive market strategy, which includes extensive price cuts, financing offers, and other incentives to boost sales of the Air sedan. These measures seem to be bearing fruit and form a solid foundation for increasing production and deliveries in the second half of the year.

Additionally, Lucid has set its sights on the upcoming Gravity SUV, which is expected to be priced at around $80,000. Although detailed pricing and launch information for the Gravity SUV have not yet been disclosed, Lucid has generated considerable excitement with its "Road to Gravity" video series and announcements from CEO Peter Rawlinson.

In the first quarter, however, Lucid reported a net loss of $684.7 million, highlighting the challenges in the highly competitive EV market. However, revenue rose from $149.4 million in the previous year to $172.7 million in the first quarter of 2024. The company has reaffirmed its production forecast of 9,000 vehicles for the year.

An important factor for Lucid's growth and financial strategies is the support from the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, which holds 60 percent of the company. This partnership has proven to be extremely helpful, as highlighted by the opening of a new assembly plant in Saudi Arabia last year. The plant supports the production of the Lucid Air and strengthens Lucid's international expansion and production capacities.

The positive delivery figures boosted the Lucid stock at least temporarily. On Monday, the stock closed with a gain of 7.85 percent at 3.16 US dollars. However, on Tuesday, it lost 2.22 percent again and closed at 3.09 US dollars.

Long-term oriented Lucid investors see the recent price jump as just a drop in the ocean. Over the past twelve months, the stock has lost more than 57 percent in value. However, over a three-month period, it gained nearly 20 percent. Whether this is the beginning of a trend reversal or just a brief recovery in the long-term downtrend will become clear in the coming quarters.