Lucid Motors is having fun with a wild experience to the highest tier of the EV pack. The short tempo of occasions is sort of a quarter-mile blast within the automaker’s 1,111-hp Lucid Air Dream Version.
Since late October, Lucid delivered its first Air sedans to paying prospects, matched Ford Motor Co. in market worth and acquired a slew of trade accolades for its debut mannequin.
However the California startup now faces rising pains because it takes on market chief Tesla, together with Rivian and all the legacy auto trade. For now, Lucid has only a single product: an government sedan with a six-figure price ticket and restricted manufacturing capability.
“We now have had a substantial amount of exercise lately, and we have been very excited by among the awards coming our manner,” Zak Edson, Lucid’s senior director of gross sales and repair, instructed Automotive Information. Amongst them: MotorTrend’s 2022 Automotive of the Yr award.
“We have been notably excited with the ability to ship vehicles to prospects for the primary time,” Edson stated. “Demand is in nice form, so quite a lot of what we’re doing is executing our plan and guaranteeing that vehicles are popping out in adequate volumes and high quality to fulfill that demand.”
Lucid stated that reservations for the Air have surpassed 17,000, though none of these symbolize assured gross sales. The corporate will end manufacturing of the limited-run $169,000 Dream Version, adopted by the $139,000 Grand Touring. Subsequent yr, it’ll add the $95,000 Touring and the $77,400 Pure variants. Costs are earlier than transport and tax credit.
The automaker has targeted totally on the U.S. market with its retail studios, which help its direct-to-consumer mannequin. But it surely additionally opened its first worldwide location in Vancouver and is transferring into Europe, the Center East and China over the following two years, Lucid stated.
Whereas the Pure variant will deliver the Air into extra accessible luxurious territory, present reservations symbolize a wholesome mixture of trims, Edson stated. “We see robust demand for the Grand Touring. It is positively not a case the place everyone seems to be coming in on the low finish.”
Lucid’s current inventory efficiency — after debuting on the Nasdaq in July — has led to intense hypothesis on freewheeling monetary web sites like Looking for Alpha. It is both the following Tesla, higher than Tesla, or simple prey for legacy automakers and their coming product blitz.
Whereas Lucid received a giant splash in November headlines due to its inventory run and media accolades, curiosity is prone to transfer on shortly to Rivian’s coming SUV, the GMC Hummer, Cadillac Lyriq and a slew of EVs from Mercedes, Audi, Genesis and different luxurious manufacturers.
“Lucid is beneath immense stress to be the following Tesla, however an organization like Tesla would not come alongside usually, and turning advertising and marketing buzz into gross sales success goes to be an uphill battle,” stated Jessica Caldwell, government director of insights at Edmunds.
“Lucid won’t solely be competing in opposition to Tesla — which dominates over 60 % of the EV market — but additionally established mainstream automakers with deep pockets and loads to lose,” Caldwell stated.
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson stated final month that the corporate has a giant benefit over opponents due to its proprietary EV expertise. The Lucid Air is the primary EV to attain greater than 500 miles of EPA vary and options ultrafast charging that leads the trade.
“Make no mistake, it is a expertise play and it is a expertise race,” Rawlinson stated on Lucid’s third-quarter earnings name.
That expertise might be on full show when Lucid’s Gravity SUV goes into manufacturing in late 2023 at its new manufacturing facility in Casa Grande, Ariz. The corporate is utilizing a few of its $4.8 billion money available to speed up part two of its plant enlargement for each the Air and Gravity.
The plant’s capability, Lucid stated, might be 34,000 autos a yr in its present part, and 90,000 when part two is full in 2023. Finally, that may develop to 365,000 yearly, Rawlinson stated. There are additionally plans for factories within the Center East and China.
Lucid is just not but speaking about merchandise past the Gravity, however Rawlinson has been hinting closely at a extra mainstream luxurious car that leverages Lucid’s concentrate on effectivity.
Since Lucid’s Air Grand Touring achieves 516 miles of vary from a 112 kilowatt-hour battery pack, a smaller car might nonetheless have snug vary with far fewer cells, he urged.
“It is simple to think about a smaller pack and the burden and value financial savings afforded by it, which might enable for a way more inexpensive EV that might nonetheless obtain 300-plus or 400-plus miles of vary,” Rawlinson stated on the earnings name.
That was basically the Tesla blueprint with the Mannequin 3 compact sedan in 2017 and the Mannequin Y crossover in 2020. These fashions now dominate the worldwide EV trade.
However whereas Tesla was early to market, Lucid could possibly be late.
“Lucid might want to develop a higher-volume, extra inexpensive car,” Caldwell stated.
“Even Tesla confronted scrutiny till it had actual industrial success with the Mannequin 3. Lucid will seemingly face an identical problem, however with the added issue of attempting to face out in a loud, crowded house.”