Libian is currently planning to offer less than 43,500 electric vehicles by the end of 2025, down nearly 16% from last year’s sales.
The company announced new guidance for investors on Thursday along with production and delivery figures for the third quarter of this year. Libian arrived in 13,201 vehicles, starting from 10,661 and 8,640 in the second and first quarters, respectively. The company also built 10,720 EVs in the quarter.
It’s a good recovery from a late start to the year. However, the company has confirmed that there are fewer Libyan vehicles delivered this year than in 2023, which moved more than 50,000 electric vehicles this year in 2024 and 2023.
The struggle to increase sales in Libian is a critical time for the company. It is in the midst of preparing to launch what appears to be the most affordable and most popular vehicle, the R2 SUV next year. The company is hoping to build and sell these hundreds of thousands, and has poured capital into expanding their usual Illinois plants and building them. Libian also breaks the ground at a brand new factory in Georgia, where he builds the R2 and its hatchback brothers, the R3.
Libian reported this year that he has been optimistic to match sales in 2024, and expects to provide investors with between 46,000 and 51,000 vehicles. Libian sold 51,579 vehicles in 2024.
But by May, President Trump implemented drastic and often changing tariffs, the company said it would lower its estimates and deliver between 40,000 and 46,000. At the time, Libian said the reason for the decline was “evolving trade regulations, policies, tariffs and the overall impact these items have on consumer sentiment and demand.”
The company again “shrinked” its range on Thursday to 41,500 to 43,500 vehicles.
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Electric vehicles are spending challenging time in the United States, especially as the Trump administration becomes increasingly hostile to electric and renewable energy. Major car manufacturers play together. Most have delayed plans for new EVs or canceled them altogether, and have also expressed support for the administration’s attempts to roll back emission regulations.
Nevertheless, most of these same automakers saw a significant increase in EV sales in the third quarter of this year. The end of the credits was a very strong motivation and helped Tesla provide a record number of vehicles.
Libian may not enjoy the same credit phase-out shopping rush as other automakers, as they are eligible for subsidies only if the company’s vehicle is leased.
Still, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has expressed optimism about his company’s opportunities in the post-credit world. Speaking to InsideEvs in August, Scaringe said he believes that some automakers are distorting the market with lost money EVs to enjoy regulatory credits that they can sell to the competition. Without federal grants, the game would be a lost proposal, he said.
“What you think will happen when you play the rest of 2020, like 2029, 2030, is that you’re kind of a competitive blank, and companies focusing on purely play EVs, Libian, Tesla, not that much.
