- Lucid CEO confirms the corporate is in search of further established automakers to companion 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 rapidly turn into an electrical automobile expertise chief. It’s prepared 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 companion with.
In a latest interview with Bloomberg, Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson stated the corporate was at present in talks with “a pair” of automakers, however he didn’t identify names—certainly one of them might be Genesis. He stated, “It will be beautiful if we may provide expertise to a conventional automotive firm to assist them on their solution to sustainability, and maybe we will leverage economies of scale with their elements bin and different features of the enterprise.”
In different phrases, Lucid could be fascinated with supplying its EV tech and count on to achieve know-how from its potential companions. This doesn’t apply to its take care of 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 could 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 in search of established OEM companions. Rivian arrange a multi-billion greenback three way partnership take care of 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 operating on a Rivian platform with Rivian tech.
Volkswagen additionally owns the Scout EV model, so it’s not totally unreasonable to recommend that the upcoming Scout Terra and Traveler might have some parts in frequent. That can make the truth that Scout and Rivian are usually not 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 planet. The startup lacks data about scaling up manufacturing into the tons of of 1000’s, which is the place the expertise offered by a longtime automaker could be very helpful.
Now within the strategy of ramping up manufacturing of its second mannequin, the Gravity full dimension SUV, Lucid will then transfer on to making ready the beginning of manufacturing for its third mannequin. This will likely be a smaller and extra inexpensive midsize electrical SUV, whose beginning value will likely be round $48,000, so it ought to promote in greater 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 12 months, it produced round 10,000 autos, so it is bought a protracted solution to go to attain the said aim.
