Lucid’s Design Chief On What’s Next

The most expensive Lucid Air, the Lucid Air Sapphire, will run you at least $249,000. Now, for a car with 1,234 horsepower and the mantle of being the world’s most powerful production four-door sedan, it’s probably a fair price – but certainly not for everybody’s budget. If you can live with a little less unhinged speed, a Lucid Air Pure starts at $77,400. And the new Lucid Gravity SUV that was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week is expected to start under $80,000.

Both Lucid models are a bit more reasonable than being out a quarter of a million dollars for your next electric vehicle purchase. But let’s face it: this California startup doesn’t make cheap cars. 

That won’t always be the case, Lucid’s design boss Derek Jenkins told me in Los Angeles this week. Much to the surprise of many who have a perception of Lucid as a high-end, luxury automaker, the company has plans for a wider portfolio and range of prices. 

“It’s important to understand that we’re not just here to make luxury vehicles,” Jenkins said. The long-term goal is to achieve excellence across the full range of vehicles from top to bottom.” 

Jenkins brought this up when I asked about Lucid’s long-awaited EV that’s due to cost around $50,000, which CEO Peter Rawlinson has alluded to in the past. Jenkins also confirmed it would be a “crossover-type vehicle,” which makes sense; that’s what people are buying right now and that’s what any EV maker needs to succeed with volume. Just look at the Tesla Model Y, which is not only the world’s best-selling EV but ostensibly the world’s best-selling car in certain markets. “All I can say about that is the attributes that have proven to be our strengths, and how we go about that, will find its way into this product family,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins didn’t elaborate on what other models Lucid aims to do; the Lucid pickup truck clay seen recently appears to be just that, at least for now. 

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As a car designer, Jenkins has an astoundingly high batting average. He’s the guy behind the D3 Audi A8, the ND Mazda Miata, and now Lucid’s two-car lineup. Both of those EVs get high marks for styling. But styling hasn’t been Lucid’s problem over the past few years. Technology isn’t either; the cars have some of the best electric range to be found anywhere. Instead, demand for its Air sedan, production costs, the usual EV startup headaches and high price tags have been. The automaker is said to have lost $430,000 for every car it sold in the third quarter of this year, while the Air has seen slowing sales for months. 

Jenkins at the Lucid Air’s debut.

That’s part of why the new Gravity SUV is such a big deal for Lucid. The three-row, seven-seat SUV may not have some fire-sale price tag, but it’s designed to appeal to mainstream buyers in a way that the Air sedan hasn’t really been able to. It’s an SUV world, and the Air has just been living in it. The Gravity, which is due to make 440 miles of range on some trim level, aims to make up for that. It’s sized a little smaller than a BMW X7 or Audi Q7, about as long as a Range Rover, and not as tall as any; it’s almost a large wagon in many ways. 

“The luxury SUV segment has diverged into so many different categories, but the one thing you always realize is that even in the luxury segment with affluent families, the SUV tends to be the primary vehicle,” Jenkins said. But Lucid thinks the Gravity can appeal to more than just families.

“For sure, those active professionals that do a lot of stuff on the weekends need to move gear, or have friends have business partners,” he said. “Then, of course, there’s a status set that just likes the utility. And I feel like the accessibility of good driving dynamics and range attracts people who may or may not need the space.” 

Jenkins also said that the Gravity ended up being less of an “Air crossover” than many people, myself included, believed it would; while it uses many components from the sedan, it’s actually on a different platform that includes a new suspension. “Aspects of this it will definitely evolve into other models,” Jenkins said. 

As far as future Gravity trims and options go, Jenkins was more cagey. He said that there will be a launch model of the SUV called the Dream Edition and that will make up the first few cars, “but then we’re going to move down as quickly as we possibly can.” He added that a rear-wheel-drive version is unlikely for the foreseeable future.

In the meantime, Lucid officials said, more emphasis will be on selling the entry Lucid Air Pure until the Gravity goes into production in late 2024. 

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com