Feb 24 (Reuters) - Electric vehicle maker Lucid

beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter revenue on Tuesday

and forecast a production rise that could top 50% this year as

it ramps up its recently launched Gravity sport utility vehicles

and prepares ​to roll out a new, mid-sized vehicle.

But Lucid ‌reported losses higher than analysts' expectations.

Last week, Lucid laid off 12% of its U.S. workforce as the

company ⁠cuts costs amid a challenging market for EVs after the

U.S. ended the federal ⁠tax credit of $7,500 for new EVs in

September.

Lucid, backed by ‌Saudi Arabia's Public Investment ‌Fund, is

betting on the Gravity SUV, with a starting price of $79,900, to

prop up sales this year.

But ​the success of Lucid's midsize EV platform, ‌expected

late this year with a starting price of under $50,000, is seen

as critical to attracting a broader swathe of customers and

shaping the ​luxury EV maker's road ahead.

Lucid said it ​will produce ‌between 25,000 and 27,000

vehicles in 2026. Last year, it produced 17,840 vehicles.

The company said it produced 7,874 vehicles in the fourth

quarter, revising it ⁠down from 8,412 vehicles it reported last

month, saying it had found 538 ⁠had not completed certain

procedures to be classified as produced. It delivered a record

of 5,345 vehicles in the fourth quarter, exceeding analysts'

estimates, according to Visible Alpha data.

For the quarter ended December, Lucid reported a 123% jump in

revenue to $522.7 million, compared ⁠with ‌the analysts' average

estimate of $468 million, according to data compiled by ‌LSEG.

The company posted an adjusted loss of $3.08 per share, compared

with the estimated loss ⁠of $2.62 per share.

The company rolled out discounts and promotional offers on

its luxury Air sedans last year to appeal to consumers scaling

back big-ticket purchases due to high borrowing costs.

The company is also focusing on developing its advanced

driver-assistance system and software, a crucial and potentially

lucrative offering that many automakers are racing to deliver to

customers.

Lucid partnered with Uber ( UBER ) and self-driving ​technology

startup Nuro last year with a plan to launch a robotaxi fleet.

The automaker faced production challenges, supply-chain

disruptions and escalating costs in 2025, with an impact from

U.S. President ​Donald Trump's flip-flopping tariff policies.