Electric vehicle startup Lucid Motors is making its global dreams a reality.
The company produces the full-sized Air luxury sedan, which will reportedly enter its first export markets this year.
Autocar reports word from a Lucid spokesperson that the company will begin exports to Europe and the Middle East this June or July, ahead of a Chinese introduction in 2023.
Perhaps more tantalising is the prospect of right-hand drive production, which Autocar reports has always been planned for the Air according to an inside source.
The British publication reports this could mean a start for right-hand drive production this year, ahead of deliveries to the UK in 2023.
Whether that locks in an Australian launch is unclear at this stage, but the likes of the Mercedes-Benz EQS and BMW i7 have already been confirmed for a local launch this year.
Germany will reportedly be the first European export market for Lucid, with sales then commencing in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Monaco, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and EV-loving Norway.
Lucid is reportedly working on an even more powerful, tri-motor version of the Air, with a rear axle featuring dual electric motors producing upwards of 1000kW.
Combined with the existing front-mounted electric motor, the tri-motor Air could produce upwards of 1193kW. That could see it pull past the Tesla Model S Plaid on the drag strip.
Tesla claims a 0-100km/h time of 2.1 seconds for the Plaid, albeit with rollout subtracted.
Lucid only sells the Air for now, but has revealed a three-row electric SUV called the Gravity. It’s set for a 2024 launch and will reportedly offer the tri-motor electric powertrain.
Other features in the works for the Air reportedly include reclining rear seats and a new air suspension option.
Currently, the Lucid Air line-up consists of the single-motor rear-wheel drive Pure and dual-motor all-wheel drive Touring, Grand Touring and Grand Touring Performance.
The Grand Touring Performance packs a 783kW punch, with a 0-60mph (0-96km/h) time of 2.6 seconds and yet an electric range under the strict EPA cycle of 718km.
The Grand Touring produces 611kW and offers up to 830km of EPA range depending on the wheels specified, while still doing the 0-60mph dash in 3.0 seconds.
The Touring has 462kW and the Pure 358kW, with both offering a claimed range of 653km.
Customer deliveries of the Touring and Pure begin in the second half of this year, with Lucid having launched the Air late last year with the Dream Edition.
This launch edition offered between 696kW and 828kW of power depending on specification.
Batteries range from 88kWh to 112kWh, and the Grand Touring models support DC fast charging at up to 300kW. All models feature a 900V electrical architecture.
Lucid announced in February it was lowering its production target of 20,000 vehicles to 12-14,000 vehicles due to “extraordinary supply chain and logistics challenges”.
It delivered 125 vehicles to customers in 2021 after commencing series production in October, which fell short of its 577-vehicle target.
In March, it told investors it had produced 400 Airs so far, delivered 300, and had an order bank with over 25,000 orders.
Lucid is based in California and manufactures the Air in Arizona. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund holds a nearly 63 per cent stake in the company, which is headed by CEO Peter Rawlinson, formerly the VP of Engineering at Tesla.
It announced earlier this year it was planning to build a second manufacturing facility, this time in Saudi Arabia, with a planned annual volume of 150,000 vehicles.
Its Casa Grande factory in Arizona has been designed to eventually produce approximately 365,000 units annually at scale.
Keyword: Lucid Air exports begin this year, right-hand drive planned - report