Lucid Motors lower the ribbon on its newly expanded Superior Manufacturing Plant One (AMP-1) manufacturing facility in Casa Grande, Arizona final week, and InsideEVs was one of many few information retailers invited to a ceremony that included displays by CEO Peter Rawlinson and Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs. The growth quadrupled the dimensions of the plant, from rather less than 900,000 sq. toes to just about 4,000,000 sq. toes.
That is a variety of actual property for an EV startup that solely delivered 6,001 automobiles final yr. In December, Lucid offered its 10,000th Air sedan after being in manufacturing for barely greater than two years. So why the large growth?
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Lucid’s spectacular tech, rocky begin
Lucid boasts a number of the longest-range EVs available on the market, and its CEO and CTO led the event of the Tesla Mannequin S. However its debut with an costly sedan has led to slower-than-expected gross sales early on, although the corporate has critical plans to increase its complete lineup.
After the displays and ribbon-cutting ceremony, I used to be in a position to safe a 10-minute video interview with Rawlinson to debate the importance of the large growth. This is a touch: it is all about what’s to come back, not what’s been finished to date.
Lucid’s AMP-1 manufacturing plant in CasaGrande, Arizona
Rawlinson was fast to level out that the corporate is in its funding section and setting the muse for the long run. By the tip of this yr, the corporate’s second car, an all-electric seven-seat SUV known as Gravity is predicted to launch with a beginning worth of about $80,000.
Lucid calls this growth Section Two of the buildout of AMP-1 and tells us the added area is important for the manufacturing of the Gravity.
Rawlinson defined the manufacturing unit’s unique footprint could not assist the manufacturing of each autos, however now it might. Each the Air and Gravity will run down the identical manufacturing line concurrently, and when Lucid’s subsequent car launches a a couple of years, that too will be produced alongside the opposite two choices. Furthermore, Lucid will construct energy items for upcoming electrical Aston Martins on the road too, Rawlinson stated.
The Gravity is predicted to have an EPA-rated vary of greater than 440 miles and sport a formidable effectivity ranking of about 4.6 miles per kilowatt hour (kWh). If Lucid manages to ship on these specs, it would simply be the longest-range, best electrical SUV out there.
Lucid’s upcoming midsize car below cowl
These on the occasion additionally obtained a shock: a fast take a look at the silhouette of Lucid’s future midsize car that up till now hadn’t been seen. The look was a fast slide on Rawlinson’s presentation and confirmed a car below cowl.
The midsize car is predicted to reach in “a few years” and seems to be within the form of a compact SUV or crossover. Rawlinson informed me the value would begin at round $50,000, so it isn’t precisely a mass-market inexpensive electrical car. Will probably be, nonetheless, considerably cheaper than the Air and upcoming Gravity, so Lucid is holding to its technique of beginning on the high of the market and progressively working down to supply extra inexpensive autos.
That midsize car is predicted to be constructed at this manufacturing unit as effectively, Rawlinson stated, giving the manufacturing unit a capability of “90,000 items every year,” he stated.
Lucid Air rolling down the meeting line at AMP-1 in Casa Grande, Arizona
That technique labored for Tesla, because it did not attain excessive quantity gross sales or profitability till the corporate was promoting the cheaper Mannequin 3 and Y, greater than a decade after promoting its first autos.
Take a look at the video and tell us what you consider Lucid’s future plans within the feedback.