Lucid is ready for expanding its business to the other side of the Atlantic, offering the Air to European and Middle Eastern buyers starting this summer. The automaker is also interested in the UK market with a right-hand-drive version of the EV possibly coming towards the end of the year, followed by Chinese exports in 2023.

Lucid confirmed its 2022 European expansion plans last January through a Twitter post, saying that country-specific information would follow. Now, an automaker’s spokesperson talked to Autocar, revealing that the Lucid Air will reach European and Middle Eastern markets in June or July 2022, followed by China next year.

Read Also: Lucid Says It May Also Have To Raise MSRPs, Vows To Honor Prices For Reservation Holders

Autocar reports that Lucid Air European sales will start from Germany, and then expand to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Monaco, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway. While there is no official word in terms of the UK market, it is heavily rumored that a right-hand-drive Lucid Air will be available to order in late 2022, with deliveries expected in early 2023.

The news come soon after Lucid was forced to lower this year’s production targets from 20,000 to 12,000-14,000 vehicles due to “extraordinary supply chain and logistics challenges”, and a few days after some of the automaker’s production hurdles were revealed online. We guess it will be hard for Lucid to satisfy the existing order backlog of more than 25,000 units, let alone cover the needs of new markets. Lucid is planning on building a new factory in Saudi Arabia by 2025 or 2026, to help produce more vehicles alongside the existing US plant.

More Powerful Lucid Air Coming For The Tesla Model S Plaid

Besides the new information on Lucid’s European launch, Autocar reports that the automaker has confirmed the development of a more powerful version of the Air. The new model will reportedly use a “Megawatt” rear axle with two electric motors, rumored to produce 1,323 (986 kW / 1,341 PS). In combination with the front-mounted electric motor, the tri-motor powertrain could produce more than 1,600 hp, allowing it to offer better performance than the rival Tesla Model S Plaid.

Currently, the most powerful Lucid Air is the Grand Touring Performance producing 1,050 hp (783 kW / 1,065 PS) which is slightly less than the 1,111 hp (828 kW / 1,126 PS) of the sold-out Air Dream Edition Performance that was available in limited quantities last year.

Setting aside the hotter variant, Lucid is working on new reclining rear seats for the existing Air, and an optional air suspension which will improve comfort. Mind you, Lucid’s one-model range is set to expand in early 2024 with the launch of the Gravity SUV that has been teased since 2020.