When a new manufacturer comes to market with a first vehicle, you have to expect a few missteps. You hope there aren’t, but you know there will likely be some. After all, if century-old automakers still can't avoid recalls, how can a new company?
Take, for example, Lucid Motors. The California-based EV maker announced this week that it is recalling just over 200 Air sedans due to a potential safety issue. The decision sent the company's shares down nearly 5 percent in the markets.
Lucid explains that in some rare cases, it is possible that the front strut damper in the suspension system was assembled incorrectly by the supplier. The company says it’s not aware of any instances of the part failing in its vehicles, but it expects that about 1 percent of the 203 units affected will be found to include the incorrectly assembled damper.
The company is so new that it does not yet appear on Transport Canada's recall page.
Assembly of the Lucid Air began last September, after being delayed due to safety concerns. So far, deliveries have been slow, as evidenced by the number of recalled units.
There's no need to be overly concerned just yet, but we'll keep a close eye on the situation. Lucid Motors has big ambitions and the last thing it needs is to get off to a rocky start with a model burdened by a slew of recalls.