- Lucid opened a brand new workplace simply exterior of Detroit
- The automaker has had bother producing giant portions of autos previously
- It is trying to faucet into the Large Three’s expertise pool to scale up operations
Lucid makes some fairly cool automobiles. They’re flashy, quick, and a freakin’ marvel of engineering (do not consider me? Simply watch a few of their tech talks). It is just like the early phases of Tesla, simply with extra consideration to construct high quality and extra investments from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Regardless of constructing a formidable machine, Lucid has been struggling to achieve market share with its Air electrical sedan. It is trying to remedy that drawback with the discharge of the Gravity SUV and a extra reasonably priced mannequin beneath the $50,000 mark. Nonetheless, the California-based automaker is aware of that it wants extra than simply high-tech engineering to scale up and make its goals come true. That is the place legacy auto excels. And if you cannot beat ’em, poach ’em.
Lucid formally opened its so-called “Michigan workplace” this week. Formally, the placement is in Southfield, Michigan, which is, give or take, 15 miles from Detroit. Unofficially, it is within the Large Three’s yard.
The automaker says it opened this plant to develop its R&D, engineering, and operations groups…which is tongue-in-cheek for poaching the core auto employees within the Detroit metro space who’ve been key within the success of designing, constructing, and launching automobiles for legacy carmakers.
Lucid would not want Detroit to show it the best way to construct the underlying tech for a automotive. It is already performed that and performed it extraordinarily properly. The automaker has earned its stripes by constructing out electrical drive models able to, fairly frankly, wizardry. It is also earned a repute for being a premium model with some slightly eye-catching styling. None of those are the departments by which Lucid wants assist.
Detroit is crawling with automotive experience. In spite of everything, Ford, GM, and Stellantis have spent actually a century perfecting the craft of large-scale manufacturing. Lucid, however, is not even sufficiently old to vote. Naturally, it is nonetheless going by way of some rising pains largely surrounding how troublesome it’s to scale up car manufacturing. Tapping into native expertise provides Lucid perception into the best way to successfully scale from producing autos by the hundreds to the tens (and finally, lots of) of hundreds.
So whereas Lucid could also be gaining some engineers and R&D consultants, the true expertise to be gained listed below are those that have connections in provide chains, logistics, and manufacturing planning. That is the place a few of the greatest secrets and techniques in automotive manufacturing disguise, and Lucid is hellbent on turning over each stone to search out the fitting folks for the job.
Is it potential for Lucid to succeed by itself? Positive. Nevertheless it’s not going to be a stroll within the park. Lucid has already missed some essential manufacturing targets. For instance, it anticipated constructing 49,000 autos in 2023 and 90,000 in 2024. Final yr, it constructed simply 8,428 autos and offered them to six,001 prospects.
Maybe Tesla CEO Elon Musk was proper when he mentioned “prototypes are simple, manufacturing is tough.”
Both approach, Lucid is displaying that it is placing its investments to good use. It desires to succeed, nevertheless it wants the fitting folks to maintain the corporate’s head above water. And the transfer to Michigan is a transparent sign: Lucid desires to play on the identical degree as the massive canines and is not afraid to tug from Detroit’s expertise pool to take action.
