Guests take a test ride in the new “air” electric car by Lucid Motors Inc. on Wednesday, Dec. 14, … [+]
Lucid Motors will unveil its Air luxury electric car online this September as the Newark, California-based EV startup seeks to recharge momentum lost in the wake of stay-at-home orders California Gov. Gavin Newsom implemented in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The online reveal will happen on Sept. 9.
The company first showed a prototype of the Air luxury sedan in 2016 and said it planned to build a new factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, about mid-way between Tucson and Phoenix. But it struggled to raise funding until Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund pumped $1 billion into the venture.
Lucid had planned to show the Air in April at the New York Auto Show, but that show was canceled in response to the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.
The Air is touted to have a full-charge range of 400 miles and be capable of 1,000 horsepower.
The company is calling its more than 1,000 employees back to work in phases. It also has hired 160 new workers in the last three months, and plans to add about 700 by the end of 2020.
“Although we are experienced an unprecedented time in our history, the determination of this company’s employeer in developing a game-changing electric vehicle burns ever more brightly,” said CEO Peter Rawlinson, in a statement.
Progress continues on the assembly plant in Casa Grande, where body and paint shops are being tooled. Lucid intends to start building pre-production versions of the Air by the end of 2020.
Lucid has not disclosed pricing, but the Air luxury will be in the luxury sedan price range, likely closer to the Tesla
But Rawlinson doesn’t want to be seen as only competing with Tesla. The Air will be shorter and narrower than a Porsche Taycan, legroom equal to or greater than the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
In March, Lucid said it planned to open eight showrooms by the end of this year. One in its Newark, California headquarters, three in Los Angeles, one each in San Jose, Orange Country, California, New York City, Miami and West Palm Beach.
Additional showrooms and service centers are planned to open in 2021 in New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Diego, and in a few European countries where electric vehicle sales have grown significantly.
