Lucid continues to work toward completing the construction of their factory in Arizona. This plant will be in charge of producing the company’s first car, the Air electric sedan. Expected arrival on the market is scheduled for the end of this year unless the global crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic prevents it.
Initially, the Lucid Air will be marketed with a 110 kWh capacity battery, thanks to which its autonomy will be around 650 km under the realistic American EPA approval cycle. This original version will have all-wheel drive (an electric motor in each axle) and total power of about 1,000 hp. Later a rear-wheel-drive access version and about 400 hp will also be added (which will cost around 60,000 dollars, compared to to the 100,000 dollars of the top variant), as well as another with three engines and a power that some speculate could be around 1,800 hp.
Thanks to its 900-volt electrical system, the Air is expected to display unparalleled efficiency, even being able to outperform the Tesla Model 3. Lucid claims that their sedan will be able to travel 8 kilometers for every kWh consumed. Also, it will have ultra-fast charging in direct current at 300 kW, as well as a two-way charger. Another point in the favor regarding the Tesla models.
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson was a previous chief engineer for the WhiteStar project, which ended up leading to the Tesla Model S. According to the manager, the Lucid Air will be far superior to the Tesla model. Among other things, the newcomer will employ permanent magnet motors on both axes (Tesla uses an induction motor and a permanent magnet motor on each axis), allowing him to improve his efficiency.
On the other hand, Rawlinson has claimed just as during the development of the Model S, he had to face unfounded criticism from fans of thermal cars. Now it is Tesla’s own fans who belittle Lucid. Other new electrical proposals called to rival the already established Californian firm: “Now I have a sense of déjà vu, with history repeating itself: Lucid is being looked down on by Tesla fans. Those former gasoline fanatics are current Tesla fans. It is very similar rhetoric.”