Lucid’s CEO Peter Rawlinson believes the longer term is electrical.
Rawlinson instructed The Verge at 2024 Monterey Automotive Week in California that “I feel we’re seeing a brief blip. I feel any discuss of retrenchment into hybrids is a blind alley. I feel hybrids provide the worst of all.”
The remark by Rawlinson got here days earlier than Ford killed its electrical three-row SUV and the automaker shifts its electrification technique to extra hybrids.
In Could, the California New Automotive Sellers Affiliation launched Q1 2024 gross sales figures. Whereas general the EV market share sagged in California, EV gross sales themselves had been up. The rationale was new-car registrations grew general with much more non-electric automobiles bought. EV gross sales are rising by quantity.
Dealerships right this moment have extra EV choices for customers than ever, however Rawlinson famous the choices are underwhelming. The sentiment was echoed by Lucid’s president of design and model, Derek Jenkins.
Lucid’s constructed a considerable benefit over the competitors by way of EV effectivity. The 2025 Lucid Air Pure is probably the most environment friendly car bought within the U.S. with a 146 MPGe score equating to five.0-miles per kwh. Earlier in August Rawlinson famous in a LinkedIn Submit that it’ll take years for the competitors to catch up. The competitors is slowing and shifting its electrification plans.
The second mannequin from the startup automaker, the Gravity SUV, debuted in 2023 and pre-production models began rolling off the meeting line in July. Inexperienced Automotive Experiences drove a prototype Gravity in Could and famous when it launches later this 12 months it would defy segments each by way of packaging, design, and driving dynamics.
A mid-size crossover SUV is below growth and has been teased by Lucid. The potential Tesla Mannequin Y rival has been dubbed “Venture Midsize,” and is claimed to reach after the Gravity SUV.