Lucid Motors second offering, an electric SUV called Gravity, is expected to begin shipping to customers by the end of 2024.
The importance of how well Gravity is received and ultimately sells cannot be overstated, as the Newark, California-based startup needs to start accelerating customer deliveries as quickly as possible.
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The Lucid Gravity might be the make-it-or-break-it car for Lucid.
Join us as we get to check out and talk about the Lucid Gravity, which might be the pivotal vehicle for Lucid. If it succeeds, then the brand’s future could be secure.
Lucid’s only current offering, the Air, hasn’t met its original sales predictions despite near-universal acclaim, and the company has recently lowered the price of the Air Pure by $7,500 and the Air Touring by $8,000 in an effort to stimulate sales.
The Gravity’s frunk has a low loading height allowing it to serve as a seat when needed.
I was able to get my first look at Gravity in December when Lucid held a small private event at the Classic Car Club in New York City. During the event, I sat down with Lucid CEO, Peter Rawlinson inside a Gravity and interviewed the engineer turned CEO about the company’s upcoming electric SUV.
After speaking with Rawlinson, I was able to record a walkaround with Lucid’s Exterior Design Manager, Jenny Ha, as well as an interior user interface overview by David Flynt, Lucid’s Head of User Experience (UX).
Ha explained the design language used for the Gravity including the headlight design, door handles, loading height, and unique single tail light.
Jumping inside the Gravity Flynt explained the “Clearview Cockpit” including the need for the squircle-style steering wheel, the new single-screen driver’s display, the horizontal center infotainment display, and the overall ergonomics of the displays and physical controls.
I also attended Lucid’s AMP-1 phase two factory grand opening in January. Located in Casa Grande, Arizona. AMP-1 is Lucid’s North American manufacturing facility, and with the Phase 2 expansion, now offers nearly four million square feet of manufacturing space. That’s large enough to allow simultaneous line production of the Air, Gravity, and also Lucid’s next vehicle which is expected to launch in a few years.
While at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, I was able to score an interview with Derek Jenkins Lucid’s Senior VP of Design and Brand, and get another walkaround tour of the Gravity in which Jenkins focused on the vehicle’s efficiency-through-design approach.
Lucid claims the three-row Gravity will have an EPA-rated driving range of over 440 miles and an impressive consumption rate of around 4.6 miles per kilowatt-hour. To put that into perspective, the Rivian R1S, another 7-seat all-wheel-drive electric SUV, has a consumption rate of nearly twice that and delivers roughly 2.3 miles per kWh. So if Lucid can deliver on its claims, the Gravity will be the most efficient SUV in the world—and by a long shot.
The Gravity is expected to have a starting price of slightly under $80,000, which we assume is so buyers can take advantage of the $7,500 federal tax credit. However, we don’t know what will come with the base trim, and that could mean it has a smaller battery and less driving range. We’ll continue to monitor Lucid’s progress on Gravity, and report any new information we discover as we get closer to the vehicle’s launch.
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