Around four weeks ago, Mercedes driver Nyck de Vries celebrated his first world championship title in the electric series at the Formula E finale in Berlin. Swiss Edoardo Mortara finished second overall in his Venturi and rookie Jake Dennis rounded out the top three with BMW power. Unlike for the manufacturers, the order is irrelevant for Lucid Group. The company is the secret winner as supplier to all the teams. The Californians are responsible for the design of the current Gen2 battery for the Formula E bolides.
Founded in 2007, the company is not content to be a supplier, however, and is flirting with its own team or a partnership with an existing racing team. While no decision has been made in this regard, Lucid is already competing against premium rivals on the road. It was only in 2014 that the company began developing its own e-vehicle, and already they have the first all-electric "Lucid Air" model ready to go - and it even comes in four variations.
The 4.97-metre-long and almost 2.2-metre-wide luxury coach not only impresses with its noble design, but also in terms of engine performance and - particularly important for e-cars - range. The current top model, the Air Dream Edition, produces 1,080 hp on the axle and, in the best case, manages an incredible 832 kilometres. This is made possible by batteries developed in-house and electric motors with 900-volt technology. This means that the new star in the e-car sky beats competitors such as BMW and Mercedes, as well as the industry pioneer Tesla, by a long way. But it's not just in terms of battery and motor technology that Lucid is one of the big innovators in the segment, the carmaker has also managed to push the drag coefficient down to 0.21. This makes the Lucid Air the most aerodynamic e-car in the world.
Air models will start rolling across the tarmac in the US later this year. Already at the half-year mark, the company counted more than 10,000 pre-orders. The sporty sedans will be manufactured in a new factory in Casa Grande in Arizona. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in November. Next year Lucid wants to make the leap across the pond and conquer the European market as well.
In order to build as many cars as possible, CEO Pete Rawlinson has already announced plans to expand production capacity from an initial 30,000 vehicles per year to 53,000 by 2023. Lucid is also looking to expand its model lineup in the coming years. The launch of the "Gravity" electric SUV is scheduled for 2023. After launching the high-end cars, Lucid then plans to gradually build more affordable vehicles in higher numbers by 2030 to reach the general population. At the same time, production capacity will increase to 500,000 units by the end of the decade.
The rapid expansion is ultimately expected to generate billions in revenue and profits for the startup - and not just in the distant future. Currently, the plan is to sell around a quarter of a million cars in 2030, generating USD 22.7 billion in revenue. By comparison, Lucid will only generate a tenth of that amount in 2022. The company also forecasts a rapid rise on the profit side. It expects to break even at the operating level as early as 2024, and a year later, the auto group aims to be in the black on the bottom line.
Earlier this year, Lucid announced its merger with SPAC Churchill Capital - effectively an empty shell company - and at the same time secured new financing of around USD 4.4 bn. Along the way, the company made the leap to the stock market in July through the back door, so to speak. Since the announcement, the share price has shown seismographic fluctuations, not least because a lot of speculative money has flowed into the stock via neobrokers such as Robinhood. Recently, however, the stock has calmed down somewhat and is currently "only" fluctuating between USD 20 and USD 30. As far as further developments are concerned, analysts' opinions differ widely. The 12-month price target ranges between USD 12 and USD 30, while the median estimate is USD 28, around one tenth above the current price.
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