Lucid Motors Could Unveil An Air-Based Electric SUV This Year

It has been almost two-and-a-half years since the Lucid Air premiered and so far, the luxury sedan is the only model the company has announced for production.

However, according to The Verge, a second model, that will take the form of an all-new SUV, will be added to the range, with an announcement coming as early as this summer.

“We have a plan for future models in mind, and we can hopefully be in a position to clarify that plan later this year,” Lucid Motors chief technology officer Peter Rawlinson told The Verge last month. “Certainly, with Lucid Air platform, we have a platform that is ideally suited for more vehicles than just the Air. And, of course, we want to exploit that.”

Lucid Motors has reportedly been thinking about an SUV for quite some time and a 2016 document from within the company is said to have shown the outlines for a crossover and a full-sized SUV alongside the sleek Air sedan.

The startup hit a snag in its electric vehicle plans two years ago, admitting that it needed more money to bring the Air to the production line. That money arrived towards the end of 2018, when it was announced that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) pledged more than $1 billion to Lucid in exchange for an undisclosed stake in the company. The United States government has yet to approve that deal.

According to Rawlinson, the company made impressive developments with the limited money it had available prior to the Saudis getting onboard.

“My engineers and technologists and scientists were able to continue with their computer modeling on a relatively limited budget, [and] those months that were spent on those modeling endeavors have led to very significant advancements in our technology,” he said.

Lucid Motors intends on commencing production of the Air in 2020. With a price that exceeds $100,000, the company believes it can move forward without requiring any additional investments.