- Lucid CEO confirms the corporate is searching for further established automakers to associate with.
- It is already in talks with two unnamed automakers after signing a deal to offer Aston Martin with its EV tech.
- Lucid needs to promote 1 million autos yearly and it’ll want an OEM’s assist to assist it ramp up manufacturing.
Though Lucid Motors is a startup with a lot much less car-making expertise than conventional OEMs, it has shortly change into an electrical car expertise chief. It’s keen to share its EV tech with others and it’s already serving to Aston Martin create its personal bespoke EV platform. Nonetheless, it additionally needs to search out extra automakers to associate with.
In a current interview with Bloomberg, Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson stated the corporate was at the moment in talks with “a pair” of automakers, however he didn’t identify names—considered one of them might be Genesis. He stated, “It could be beautiful if we may provide expertise to a standard automobile firm to assist them on their option to sustainability, and maybe we will leverage economies of scale with their components bin and different facets of the enterprise.”
In different phrases, Lucid could be fascinated about supplying its EV tech and count on to realize know-how from its potential companions. This doesn’t apply to its cope with Aston Martin, which is one-sided for now, however Lucid expects to earn extra than simply cash from its future partnerships. Aston Martin will launch its first EV, which can have Lucid tech and know-how, in 2026, and it says it has a number of EVs within the pipeline.
Lucid isn’t the one EV startup searching for established OEM companions. Rivian arrange a multi-billion greenback three way partnership cope with Volkswagen to develop electrical autos. VW has pledged to take a position near $6 billion, and the partnership’s first autos are anticipated to debut in 2027. Apparently, a Volkswagen EV prototype is already working on a Rivian platform with Rivian tech.
Volkswagen additionally owns the Scout EV model, so it’s not solely unreasonable to recommend that the upcoming Scout Terra and Traveler could have some parts in frequent. That may make the truth that Scout and Rivian will not be the identical firm even much less obvious.
Lucid’s in-house-developed electrical motors and 900-volt platform enable it to make a few of essentially the most environment friendly electrical autos on the earth. The startup lacks data about scaling up manufacturing into the lots of of hundreds, which is the place the expertise offered by a longtime automaker could be very helpful.
Now within the means of ramping up manufacturing of its second mannequin, the Gravity full measurement SUV, Lucid will then transfer on to getting ready the beginning of manufacturing for its third mannequin. This shall be a smaller and extra reasonably priced midsize electrical SUV, whose beginning value shall be round $48,000, so it ought to promote in increased volumes than any of its present fashions—the most affordable Lucid proper now’s the Air Pure, which begins at $71,400, however you’ll be able to pay over $250,000 for a top-spec Air Sapphire.
Peter Rawlinson beforehand stated that Lucid is aiming to promote 1 million autos yearly, and it’s banking on not one however two midsize electrical crossovers to get there. This yr, it produced round 10,000 autos, so it is obtained an extended option to go to realize the said purpose.
