Panasonic Energy will supply batteries for the Lucid Air and the upcoming Lucid Gravity as part of a multi-year agreement between the two companies.
Panasonic intends to significantly increase its production of lithium-ion batteries from both a new facility in Japan as well as one that will be established in De Soto, Kansas.
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The vast majority of Panasonic’s current battery production exclusively supplies Tesla. It is understood that officials from the company are cautious about becoming too reliant on Tesla alone, hence why they have joined with Lucid to also supply it with batteries.
“Panasonic is a fantastic partner with both innovative technology and depth of experience,” Lucid chief executive and chief technology officer Peter Rawlinson said. “This agreement will help us meet the growing demand for lithium-ion batteries as we continue to ramp production of the full Lucid Air line-up in 2023 and expect to begin production of our Gravity SUV in 2024.”
News of this partnership between Lucid and Panasonic comes shortly after the automaker sent out an email to customers who had reserved an Air but not yet turned it into a firm order, offering them a discount of up to 10 percent. Lucid has also been offering employees a discount of up to $18,000 if they take delivery of an Air model before the end of the year.
Sales data has revealed that used Lucid Air models are being listed for 92 percent of their original price, significantly less than the 132 percent resale value of used Rivian R1T and R1S models, indicating that demand for the Air has started to slip.
