Lucid’s Tesla Model Y competitor expected within a few years [Update]

Update: ‘Affordable, global model’ section updated.

Lucid Motors’ journey in the auto market began with the launch of the Lucid Air electric sedan in the second half of 2021. In 2024, the Peter Rawlinson-led California-based startup will launch a Tesla Model X rival – the Lucid Gravity, and in the years ahead, it plans to release smaller models.

Top-down strategy

Like Tesla, Lucid Motors charts a top-down approach by releasing large, upper-class models before moving to mid-size cars that have a large volume potential. In February 2021, Lucid Motors held a conference call in which executives revealed plans to launch many new EVs in the future, including more Lucid SUVs and a Lucid pickup truck.

Beyond Project Gravity, we have a beguiling range of products planned for the next decade, and that will encompass multi-platforms. And there’s one thing I really want to emphasize here. Please do not mistake Lucid for a niche player. We’re starting overtly high-end deliberately to establish the brand. I want Lucid to be huge. Over the next decade, we’re gonna make hundreds and hundreds thousands of cars.

Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO, Lucid Motors

Future launches of Lucid Motors

Lucid Motors appears to be working on two mid-size EVs to become a volume player in the U.S. and overseas markets. Speaking to analysts and investors during Lucid Motors’ Q3 2022 earnings conference call on November 8, 2022, Rawlinson said the first Lucid mid-size EV will arrive “towards sort of late mid-decade.” That will be an “awesome” and “much more affordable” model, he added.

In March 2023, Derek Jenkins, Senior Vice President of Design and Brand, Lucid Group, briefly mentioned the third Lucid EV in a conversation with The Globe And Mail. Without revealing whether it’ll be a Tesla Model Y rival or something else, he said the third model will probably be slightly more youthful and sportier than the Air and Gravity. He reaffirmed the previously stated launch timeline, expressing that customers should expect its arrival around the middle of the decade.

Tesla Model Y-like SUV

A Lucid mid-size SUV competing with the Tesla Model Y could turn out to become its best-selling car when it arrives later this decade. It would be quite suitable for gaining a share of the European markets where the Lucid Gravity, in comparison, is deemed too big. It could have a longer range than the Tesla Model Y, between 350-400 miles (EPA). Like the Gravity, expect a fluidic yet masculine exterior and an interior that is more futuristic and lavish than all competitors.

Lucid mid-size sedan/coupe

Lucid also appears to be interested in launching a mid-size sedan/coupe as well, as the company has already teased such a model. The picture below shows Rawlinson in front of what looks like a mid-size Lucid coupe or coupe-styled sedan.

The teased Lucid mid-size EV is visibly shorter than the Lucid Air. It has a slippery exterior that should result in a coefficient of drag of 0.20 or lower. The roofline steeply tapers from behind the B-pillar, much like on the Hyundai Ioniq 6. The first Lucid mid-size model appears to have a sleek greenhouse and a full-width tail light bar as well.

The responsibility for designing the Lucid vehicle that is to compete with the Tesla Model Y has been entrusted to Jenkins. Therefore, it is expected to be as attractive and desirable as the Lucid Air. However, the vehicle’s silhouette suggests that it will have a more aggressive appearance than the poised Lucid Air.

Affordable, global model

During the company’s Q2 2023 earnings conference call on August 7, 2023, Rawlinson said that “mid-size EV development is on schedule for mid- to late decade.” The company is working on a next-gen powertrain for the mid-size EV and “that needs to be ready to sync with the start of production of the platform,” the company chief added.

Rawlinson also stated that the Lucid mid-size EV “is going to be a global vehicle.” Given its smaller size, we’re sure it’d have great potential in Europe, enabling Lucid Group to achieve its ambitious overseas targets in the years to come. “We’re going to make it much more accessible in terms of its price point,” the Rawlinson remarked. We expect the base price of the Lucid mid-size SUV to be around USD 55,000.

TopElectricSUV says

The introduction of the Lucid mid-size SUV is expected to significantly enhance the brand’s accessibility and provide potential Tesla Model Y buyers with a new and compelling vehicle in the segment. With its appealing design, the smaller Lucid SUV could become the most aesthetically pleasing model in its category, and possibly even the most technologically advanced, as the company has confirmed a next-gen powertrain for future launches.

Lucid mid-size SUV FAQs

Featured Image Source: Lucid Motors