Lucid Wants To Rival The German Three, Design Exec Says

Lucid’s first production vehicle, the all-electric Air, is still quite some time away from reaching the hands of customers but the electric startup isn’t hiding its ambitious aims.

During a recent interview with Next Mobility, the VP of design at Lucid Motors, Derek Jenkins, said that the company is aiming squarely at the German three of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz and has a jump on all of them.

“From the beginning, we were very much focused on a luxury product; we felt like there is still a big opportunity at that end of the market. There was a lot of open opportunity to do something that is more forward-facing and less based on tradition, that is kind of the foundation,” he said.

The company believes that it will be a number of years before the German automakers produce meaningful electric vehicles that will be capable rivalling the Air, providing the firm with a significant edge to allow it to do battle with Tesla and potentially, Faraday Future, before other marques catch up.

Both the exterior and interior design of the Air has received praise from all corners but the company isn’t just chasing style. It also wants to offer comfort and practicality not offered by the Germans. The most obvious example of this is the fact that despite being 10-inches shorter than the BMW 750 Li and Mercedes-Benz S550L, the Air actually has more interior space, allowing it to implement its eye-catching, private jet-inspired reclining rear seats.

We have our fingers and toes crossed that the Lucid Air makes it to the market in 2019 as promised.