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The Lucid Air, an electric sedan with a range of more than 800 km, will set its wheels on European soil from this year 2022.
The American manufacturer Lucid Motors is preparing to export its Air sedan to European and Middle Eastern soils this summer. A right-hand drive version is said to be in the works, followed by exports to China in 2023.
A competitor of the Tesla Model S, it distinguished itself in its Dream Edition Range version by reaching a range of 836 km according to the measurement protocol of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This sedan will be exported to Europe, confirms a brand manager to the British magazine Coach.
Germany is expected to be the first country served by exports, followed by Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Monaco, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway. France is therefore not on this list for the moment, but we contacted the manufacturer to find out if an investment plan for France would be planned.
The Lucid Air will be available in 4 versions: Air Pure, Air Touring, Air Grand Touring and Air Dream Edition. The first prices start at $77,400 for the Air Pure, which already offers a range of 406 miles (652 km) and goes up to $169,000 in the Air Dream Edition version for 520 miles (836 km). Remember that the stakes for Lucid Motors are enormous since after a few weeks of entering Wall Street the amount of its market capitalization has increased to 90 billion dollars, more than Ford, the historic manufacturer, which has nevertheless invested heavily in the electrification lately peaking at $79 billion.
Although production had started, only 300 customers were delivered, out of 400 cars produced and 25,000 orders. Production targets for the year have also dropped from 20,000 to 14,000 vehicles at best. Lucid Motors states: “we face extraordinary supply chain and logistics challenges“. The manufacturer also plans to build a new factory in Saudi Arabia to support American production.
In addition to new information on the European launch of Lucid, Coach reports that the manufacturer has confirmed the development of a more powerful version of the Air. The new model would use a “Megawatt” rear axle with two electric motors, the power of which would be 1323 hp. In combination with the front-mounted electric motor, the three-motor powertrain could produce more than 1,600 hp, allowing it to outperform rival Tesla Model S Plaid.