Just yesterday I was speaking to someone about the limits of electric vehicles. Their 200 mile driving range was sited as a limiting factor.
Today this article appeared, claiming a new electric vehicle has a range of 400 miles. Is this a deal changer for the future of electric vehicles?
Is Lucid Motors the real challenge to Tesla Motors?
Whether you agree with Elon Musk’s way of doing things or not there is no doubt that Tesla Motors has dragged the electric car industry kicking and screaming to the next level. Created to service the sporting/luxury end of the electric car market, Tesla is now making affordable electric cars available to the masses. However, does the company have a serious competitor in the shape of Lucid Motors?
What does Lucid Motors have to offer?
The company has been dropping hints for some time that it was on the verge of announcing a serious competitor to Tesla’s luxury range of electric vehicles. This has finally arrived in the shape of the Lucid Air which will be available for $100,000 plus from 2018. This may seem like a very high entry price for a new competitor, but it has a lot to offer. Interestingly, while Tesla has been mentioned in various headlines as the main target, Lucid Motors also seems to have BMW and Mercedes-Benz gas guzzling vehicles in its sights.
The new vehicle will come with a 100 kW battery as standard although there are plans to offer a 130 kW battery in the future. The company has been working with Samsung SDI to create an efficient and long-lasting battery and believes the Lucid Air will have a range capacity of 400 miles per charge. This is a phenomenal target when you bear in mind the snail-like pace at which some electric car companies have been increasing their journey capacity.
Design of the Lucid Air
Each of the electric motors on the Lucid Air will create 600 hp, and due to the way in which the suspension and powertrain are integrated into the design, there is additional seating capacity. At a time when many electric car companies are trying to trim seating capacity to a minimum, it is interesting to see Lucid Motors making strides in additional capacity.
The electric motors can create a combined 1000 hp pushing the vehicle from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.5 seconds. Voice control together with self-driving features such as long/short range radar, cameras, and Lidar will ensure that the Lucid Air will certainly grab the headlines. The $100,000 entry vehicle will go into production in 2018 at the company’s Arizona plant. Following the same path as Tesla, the Lucid Motors also has plans to introduce a $65,000 model in the not too distant future.
Should Tesla be concerned?
It will be interesting to see how Lucid Motors progresses and whether indeed the 2018 target date for production of the Lucid Air remains intact. We have seen many high-tech electric car companies come and go, after threatening to compete with Tesla, but there does seem to be an air of confidence about Lucid Motors. At the end of the day, any competition for Tesla is likely to bring out the best in Elon Musk, a man who does not duck any challenges.
Any competition within the electric vehicle market will focus the minds and efforts of traditional automobile manufacturers and leading lights of the technology industry.
Article by Mark Benson
This will remove the excuse that many people use. My petrol car will only go 320 miles. IMHO 200 miles is fine for 90% or more average drivers. I take a trip that exceeds 200 miles one way maybe twice a year.
Rodney