The US electric car manufacturer Lucid Motors has started deliveries of its electric luxury sedan Air in Europe. The first units went to customers in Germany and the Netherlands.
The Lucid Air starts in Europe with the limited Dream Edition, which is available in two different versions. According to WLTP, the model has a range of 799 kilometres. However, as is well known, this is not a spartan renunciation model: the Dream Edition Performance is 828 kW strong and accelerates to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds. For those who can do without a bit of power, the 696 kW Dream Edition Range offers a slightly longer range of 883 kilometres.
Since the Air has a 900-volt architecture, it can charge faster than other currently available production vehicles. With 300 kW of peak charging power, the Lucid Air Grand Touring, which is not yet available in Europe, is advertised as being able to charge enough power for a range of 400 kilometres in about 15 minutes.
Lucid is currently accepting reservations from European customers for all trim levels of Lucid Air. By making a fully refundable reservation starting at €300, customers in a total of 14 European countries can secure their place on the waiting list. It is not known exactly when the other trims will be delivered.
The Lucid Air is built in the company’s only factory at present in Casa Grande, Arizona. Production of the Gravity electric SUV is also scheduled to start there in 2024. A plant in Saudi Arabia (the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF is one of the main shareholders) is also planned.
However, not all signs point to growth: production cannot be scaled up as quickly as planned. The company had to abandon its original target of 20,000 Air this year early on and gradually lowered its production target – most recently in August to between 6,000 and 7,000 vehicles. In the fourth quarter, which is still underway, Lucid must build 2,313 units to reach the minimum target of 6,000. But that seems feasible: In Q3, 2,282 Air were built.
A few days ago, Lucid Motors opened its third European retail location and its first service, delivery and distribution centre in Europe near Amsterdam. As is well known, the first showroom on European soil was opened in Munich, another one is now located in Geneva. Further locations are to follow.