California-based Lucid Motors, which just started taking reservations last week for its most expensive model to date, the over 1,200 hp Air Sapphire priced at over a quarter of a million dollars, might already be commencing production of its more affordable Air Pure version, priced under $90,000.
In a Twitter post on Friday, the company offered a glimpse of a Lucid Air coming off the production line with a solid aluminum roof. This is a distinct variation from the integrated glass canopy roof found in the Air Dream Edition and Grand Touring models the company has been manufacturing so far. Considering the solid roof will come with later availability on the midrange Air Touring but is a distinctive feature of the Air Pure from the outset, all signs point to the latter.
The Lucid Air Pure will be available in a single-motor rear-wheel-drive configuration, marked in Lucid’s build tool for “later availability,” so these initial Pure versions are likely to have the option for all-wheel drive with dual-motor.
The Pure serves as the entry point for the lineup but is not stripped down; it is the package CEO Rawlinson has highlighted as the “purest expression of the Air,” as its flatter battery pack, shared with the Touring, allows for more rear foot space. It’s also lighter and more in line with the company’s emphasis on efficiency. In the not-too-distant future, its technology could help enable the mass-market adoption of electric vehicles that can go farther with smaller battery packs than rival models.
Lucid has listed the Air Pure with an anticipated range of 406 miles, yet to be confirmed by the EPA, but coincidentally 1 mile longer than the current longest-range Tesla Model S. The Lucid Air showcases its efficiency superiority in achieving that with a usable battery capacity somewhere near the listed 88 kWh, while the Model S has a usable capacity of about 95 kWh.
Although Tesla initially had a competitive advantage when Lucid first announced Air details, it has since raised its prices again. Currently, a non-Plaid Model S starts at $106,190, apples to apples, almost a $12,000 difference between the dual-motor versions with over 400 miles of range according to the EPA.
That being said, the automaker has not yet issued any formal announcements about its production ramp-up or arrival schedule. The Air Touring and Air Pure were due by year-end, according to Lucid, and while the company’s volume increase hasn’t gone as fast as originally planned, seeing a mix of models being manufactured is a good sign.
In the latest update, Lucid Air Touring and Grand Touring were expected in the fourth quarter, but it’s conceivable the automaker skipped to the Pure first due to supply chain reasons and a production ramp-up slower than anticipated. Earlier this year, the company noted glass as one of the commodities it was having trouble acquiring.
Last month, Lucid halved its 2022 production estimate, citing ongoing challenges in the supply chain and logistics. The company now expects to deliver between 6,000 and 7,000 vehicles in 2022, and by the end of the first half of this year, it had delivered 1,039 vehicles, totaling 1,164 Air models delivered up to that date.
Finding buyers is definitely not the issue. As of August 3rd, Lucid reported over 37,000 reservations, a number around 7,000 more than the previous quarter and despite a significant price increase of up to $15,000 across the model lineup.
Note that many will get the Pure for $10,000 less than its current price of $88,900, as Lucid allowed previous reservation holders until June 1st to lock in the price.
Lucid currently has an installed capacity of 34,000 vehicles per year, should it overcome these issues, and an expansion Phase 2 increase capacity to 90,000 units per year, including space to build the upcoming Gravity SUV, is planned for early 2023. A factory in Saudi Arabia that can produce up to 155,000 vehicles is also in the works.
