The all-electric automaker Lucid Motors, which went public this year, announced on Thursday that one of its future luxury Air sedans has an EPA range of more than 520 miles. The Lucid Air Dream Edition Range variant's official rating moves Lucid past Tesla, who has long led this area.
The official EPA range of the Lucid Air — and its several variants — was projected to be on par with or better than that of some Tesla models. This statement not only provides Lucid bragging rights, but it also exposes a little about the company's plan of offering a variety of Air sedan models at costs ranging from US$169,000 to US$77,400.
Top EV Range
Lucid originally intended to sell only one version of the Lucid Air Dream Edition, which would be the sedan's first and most expensive variant. The Lucid Air Dream Edition Range, which has 520 miles of range and 933 horsepower when equipped with 19-inch tires, and the Lucid Air Dream Edition Performance, which has 1,111 horsepower and can go 471 miles on a single charge when equipped with 19-inch tires, are now available. When the vehicles are equipped with 21-inch tires, the range of the Dream Edition Range drops to 481 miles and the Dream Edition Performance drops to 451 miles.
The range statistic, according to Lucid Group CTO and CEO Peter Rawlinson, is due to a combination of the company's 900V battery and battery management system, smaller drive units, and electric drive train technology. According to Rawlinson, this is a new record for any EV.
Lucid intends to build and market additional Air models, including a Grand Touring model with a 516-mile EPA range rating. The Grand Touring model starts at $139,000, while the Dream Edition model starts at $169,000. The Air Touring, which starts at $95,000, and the Air Pure, which starts at $77,400, are two other, less expensive variants that the company hopes to sell.
Lucid Air Back Interior
Merger Deal
Lucid Motors agreed to merge with Churchill Capital IV Corp., a special-purpose acquisition firm, to become a publicly traded corporation, in the largest deal ever between a blank-check company and an electric vehicle startup.
The combined business will have a transaction equity value of $11.75 billion, with Saudi Arabia's state fund remaining the largest stakeholder. The public equity deal's private investment is valued at $15 per share, implying an equity value of $24 billion.
The agreement will also aid Lucid in realising its objective of supplying electric car technologies to third parties, such as other automakers, as well as offering energy storage solutions in the residential, commercial, and utility sectors.
It is neither cheap nor simple to grow an electric vehicle company. Lucid came dangerously close to going bankrupt a few years back when it couldn't find an investor to fund the construction of its ultra-luxury electric Air vehicle. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, which agreed to invest $1 billion in Lucid Motors in September 2018, was that investor.
Lucid originated in 2007 as Atieva, a business focused on researching electric car battery technology that was created by former Tesla VP and board member Bernard Tse and entrepreneur Sam Weng. Early research, development, and advances in components and overall electric design would create the vital groundwork for the future Lucid, which emerged at the end of 2016 with a new publicly declared goal of producing electric vehicles (although the company had already been working quietly at this for a couple of years). One of the driving forces behind this new objective was Rawlinson, who left Tesla in 2013 to join Lucid as CTO. Later on, he was given the title and responsibilities of CEO.
Tesla Rival?
While Lucid is frequently described as a Tesla competitor, Rawlinson claims that the Air is intended to compete with the Mercedes S Class. “Tesla is innovative, but not luxury,” he added. Lucid describes itself as a competitor to Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, which are all considered "established luxury" brands.
But Lucid is adopting a page from Tesla's playbook and has revealed intentions to eventually provide more affordable EVs when production ramps up.
