BYD is considering making an offer to buy Lucid Motors. Should they…

Isaiahmcgeef BYD is considering making an offer to buy Lucid Motors. Should they…BYD is considering making an offer to buy Lucid Motors. Should they do it? Report on whether Lucid would be a good target for BYD, and how to manage the post-merger integration process in case they decide to go ahead with the acquisition (even if you recommend against it).More details on Lucid are below. Please do not take into account the political elements of US/China relations in your report; let’s focus on the strategic elements assuming there would not be any political issues.From Wikipedia:Lucid was founded in 2007 under the name Atieva and originally focused on building electric vehicle batteries and powertrains for other vehicle manufacturers. Lucid’s CEO and CTO, Peter Rawlinson, formerly served as VP of Engineering and Chief Engineer of the Model S at Tesla, Inc., and Vice President Derek Jenkins previously worked as Head of Design at Mazda North American Operations. The company has seen investments from Tsing Capital, Mitsui, Venrock, JAFCO, and others.The company rebranded to Lucid Motors in October 2016 and officially announced its intent to develop an all-electric, high-performance luxury vehicle. On November 29, 2016, state and company officials announced the planned construction of Lucid’s US$700 million manufacturing plant in Casa Grande, Arizona, which was projected to employ up to 2,000 workers by the mid-2020s, initially building 20,000 cars and expanding up to 130,000 cars per year. The factory was then to be designed to support a maximum capacity of 380,000 cars per year. As of November 2016, the company had planned to break ground in 2017, and have cars in production by early 2019. The first vehicles began rolling off the assembly line on September 28, 2021.From Forbes on 1/21/2023:Lucid Group, a luxury electric vehicle maker, announced that it over delivered for 2022 by producing 7,180 vehicles instead of the original guidance of between 6,000 and 7,000.With Tesla recently cutting its prices, there are worries that other EV makers will have to follow suit. Lucid investors are concerned about price reductions and delivery issues as the luxury EV maker struggles to get cars to customers.From Reuters, 3/1/2023:U.S. electric vehicle startups are seeing an unsettling trend, with demand evaporating as potential customers look for deals or hold off on purchases altogether. Quarterly reports from several companies indicated weakening interest for many of their newer products, a bad sign for companies wrestling with high costs. Luxury sedan maker Lucid (LCID.O), pickup and SUV maker Rivian (RIVN.O) and electric semi truck maker Nikola (NKLA.O) all flagged economic pressure, with industry experts saying price cuts by industry behemoth Tesla and the availability of cheaper EV models from traditional automakers sapped demand for the startups’ new vehicles.Image transcription textHow EV prices stack up against Tesla’s cars $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000 Fisker Ocean $37;499Tesla Model 3 $42,990 Tesla Model Y $54,490 Rivian RIT $73,000 Rivian RIS $78,000 Lucid Air $87,400 TeslaModel S $94,990 Tesla Model X $109,990 Note: Excludes potential incentives and discounts Sourc… Show more… Show more BusinessBusiness – Other