In today's EV market, a wide field of traditional automakers is competing for the crumbs of Tesla's dominance.
One of those manufacturers is Lucid (LCID) , a Newark, Calif.-based firm currently producing just one model.
Its lone car, the $69,900 Air sedan, is not cheap but is an EV that has garnered mainstream attention and praise. Automotive authority Car and Driver magazine listed the base mode, the Air Pure, as one of its 10 best cars for 2024, noting that it is a "base model [...] that makes you feel like you're holding a golden ticket instead of a coupon."
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Additionally, for 2025, Lucid gave the Air Pure a series of upgrades that have made it the most energy-efficient vehicle ever made, a feat credited to smaller, more efficient batteries.
Recently, a key Lucid executive sat down with automotive blog CarBuzz, where they revealed some plans to capture Tesla's fire.
The "Mid-Size" line
In an interview with CarBuzz, Derek Jenkins, Lucid Motors senior vice president of Design and Brand, said that the brand is working on three different vehicles as part of its "mid-size" program.
Jenkins told the publication that the new vehicles will be "compact, lighter vehicles" focused on "[aerodynamics], efficiency and space." In the same vein that Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y were intended to be smaller versions of the Model S and Model X, respectively, Lucid intends to stuff the "mid-size" cars with the best bits from the Air sedan and the upcoming Gravity SUV in a package with a broader appeal and more attractive price point.
"It's not going to be as quick as Air, but it's going to be impressive, and it's going to be at a value that many more people can access," Jenkins told CarBuzz.
"The whole idea is to take our technology and hit a wider swathe of consumers and accelerate that transition. We're creating a range of personalities around that program. But you have to do that by blowing people away and alleviating any fear or doubt that they have in their mind about going to EV."
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The Lucid Design SVP noted that two of the three planned vehicles include a sedan intended to take on the Tesla Model 3, and a compact crossover SUV to go up against Tesla's bestseller, the Model Y. However, according to Jenkins, the third potential vehicle is a wildcard that could possibly target one of Rivian's future cars – the off-road-oriented R3X.
Jenkins notes that vehicles in the off-road space, like those from Subaru or future vehicles like the Rivian R3X, cater to an untapped market that Lucid wants to tackle.
"The off-road space is going to continue to morph and evolve. You're going to have products that are trying to cater to the fringe of off-roading, like rock crawling, and then you have your normal crossover products," Jenkins said.
"It makes sense because you start to get the benefit of two worlds. You get the benefit of something that is ever so slightly sleeker and ever so slightly car-like to get the efficiency, both the space and the aero efficiency, but you ruggedize it to give you a little bit more of that robustness and durability. I feel there's a whole new category of products that still could be on the drawing boards of many companies; that's a big area to explore."
Related: Lucid teases an upcoming EV that can divert buyers from Tesla
The Model Y syndrome
According to Kelley Blue Book and Cox Automotive data, Tesla has a hot product with the Model Y and Model 3. In Q2 2024, the Model Y had the largest chunk of the total EV market share, capturing 30.7% of all sales. Tesla also has the second largest EV market share chunk, as its Model 3 captured 12.9% of sales in the same period.
With such strong sales, it is no wonder why other manufacturers would want to capture some of the same magic. However, according to Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, the Model Y is the sole reason for the slowdown in EV sales, noting that most automakers try too hard to make a Model Y or Model 3 competitor, which ends up creating a market full of "copycat products" that lack the "X-factor" the real Tesla has.
As a result, buyers "make do" with cars that resemble the Model 3 and Model Y, which may not exactly fit their needs or lifestyle.
Like Rivian, Lucid has a "signature" design and a premium image that can prove valuable in differentiating itself from the "egg-shaped" Model Y and its similarly priced copycats.
"So maybe they wanted a true SUV and got a very car-like crossover with the Model Y," Scaringe said. "Maybe they wanted something that was a little bit bigger, but they got something that was more like the Model Y. Maybe they didn’t love the Tesla look, but it’s the best product, so they took the Model Y."
Lucid Motors, which trades on the Nasdaq as LCID was up 10.49%, trading at $3.58 at the closing bell today.
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