Lucid Motors ready to challenge Tesla with the Air

The electric car market in the US has been dominated by Tesla, but Elon Musk's company, which at one time this week became more valuable than General Motors, may be facing new competition from Lucid Motors in the next couple of years.

Lucid, which counts China's LeEco, venture capital firm Tsing Capital and state-owned Beijing Auto among its investors, is promoting its flagship Lucid Air sedan at the New York International Auto Show, which opens to the public on Friday.

"We are on the cusp of a wave (and) it's everyone else that is late to the party," said Peter Rawlinson, Lucid's chief technology officer and a former top executive at Tesla. "The established automakers aren't responding quickly enough to the transition to more environmentally sound transportation."

Until recently, the main selling point for electric vehicles like the Tesla Model S and the Air was no need for gasoline and the lack of emissions produced by an internal combustion engine. Lucid design chief Derek Jenkins, who worked at Mazda, is eager to demonstrate the other advantages of using an electric power plant.

"Because there is no internal combustion engine and a large multi-speed transmission, we have re-proportioned the car," he said of the Air. "We have moved the occupants and opened up the interior space while simultaneously reducing the space the car also takes up on the outside."

While the Air has the same exterior dimensions as the Model S, it is larger inside. The result is an interior in the Air that is "well suited for the world with more legroom and executive seating in the rear and a unique battery system that is ideal for repeated fast charging," added Rawlinson.

The company is seeking a new round of financing. Once that is complete, Rawlinson said Lucid will break ground for its assembly plant in Casa Grande, Arizona.

"We have secured a clean-air permit and expect to go from groundbreaking to production in two years," said Rawlinson. If all goes well, the groundbreaking will occur later this year with deliveries of the Air beginning in 2019, with prices starting at $52,500 after federal tax credits, Rawlinson said.

The base model Air will be rear-wheel drive with a 240-mile range battery. Consumers will have the option to purchase a larger battery that features a driving range of 315 miles.

Like Tesla, Lucid plans to market its vehicles directly to the consumer and avoid establishing a dealer network, long the preferred method of marketing cars in the US.

"We want to give our customers a unique and appropriate purchasing experience," Rawlinson said.

Lucid intends to market the Air first in the US and eventually sell the vehicle on the mainland. Rawlinson acknowledges that China will be a "hugely significant" market for Lucid.

"China is the largest luxury market, and our car is well suited for mega cities and densely populated areas," said Rawlinson.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com