Just a stone's throw away from Tesla's factory at Fremont, a new all-electric luxury sedan has been unveiled, the first ever car for an emergent EV player called Lucid Motors. With the new vehicle, you may be assured that the company is aiming to challenge Tesla's position in the market in the very near future.
Luxury Electric Vehicle
Dubbed simply as Air, the new electric car is primarily aimed at the luxury segment, specifically at what Lucid calls as the "executive" market. For this reason, the company has pulled all the stops to outfit the car with top-notch design and cutting-edge EV technologies.
Lucid Air vs. Tesla Model S P100D
To start with, Air boasts of a maximum of 400-mile range, thanks to its 100 kWh battery. To put things into perspective, Tesla's Model S P100D, which sits atop its performance models, can only manage 315 miles on the EPA cycle. Until the release of the Air, Tesla claims that the P100D is the longest range production electric vehicle by far.
Air's acceleration is also on par with the P100D. Both vehicles can go from 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds.
Under the hood, Lucid Air is said to be taking a new approach to design in the sense that it is taking advantage of the fully electric drivetrain. Since electric motors have smaller real estate than combustion engines, Lucid engineers are able to place an engine on each axle, paving the way for an all-wheel drive capable of 1,000 horsepower.
Air also has autonomous driving credentials, which are now standard to all Tesla EVs. Lucid stated that it will be outfitted with sensors and technologies such as LiDar, radar and optical cameras to allow its owners to enjoy automated driving.
Lucid's Dream Team
It is also important to note that the team behind Lucid Motors are already veterans in the EV and mainstream auto industry. For example, Peter Rawlinson, Lucid's chief technology officer, used to head the development of the Tesla Model S.
Aside from other former Tesla employees, Lucid also employs Derek Jenkins and Brian Barron, who were previously connected with Mazda and BMW, respectively. Based on the strength of its team, Lucid seems to have the smarts to fulfill its ambition.
Lucid's assembly line will be located in Arizona and could employ as much as 2,000 workers.
Pricing And Availability
Lucid Motors will reportedly get into production next year so the Air could hit showrooms by 2018. That schedule has been verified by the prototype model unveiled. The Air is estimated to fetch more than $100,000 with the special Launch Edition possibly selling for as much as $160,000.
Lucid Motors is now accepting preorders and interested buyers will have to shell out $2,500 deposit and $25,000 for the Launch Edition.
