Electric vehicle maker Lucid is betting that simplifying its electric vehicle designs by using fewer parts and relying on domestic suppliers will help strengthen its supply chain in a year of high uncertainty due to tariffs imposed by Trump’s Administration.
“Doing more with less is efficiency,” James Hawkins, Lucid’s Vice President of Engineering, said during a keynote at the AutoTech 2025 event. “Doing more with less is at the heart of sustainability and at the heart of resilience.”
The executive noted that fewer parts allow for managing risks, cut sourcing needs, and support sustainability efforts.
While showing an electric motor developed by the Newark-based manufacturer, the executive said it is “a really obvious example of how we can do more with less.”
Hawkins said Lucid is prioritizing domestic supply, recently signing a battery materials deal with Graphite One and securing U.S.-made batteries from Panasonic, as initially reported by Automotive Dive.
Panasonic Energy and Lucid entered into multiple multi-year supply deals in 2022.
The company said in January that the Grand Touring trim of its second model, the Gravity, will be using Panasonic Energy’s lithium-ion EV battery cells.
The model has an EPA-estimated range of “up to 450 miles from a battery pack that is up to 40 percent smaller than competitors,” according to Lucid.
Lucid’s interim Chief Executive Officer Marc Winterhoff acknowledged last month that the Gravity SUV has encountered delays due to supply chain challenges but said the company still expects to meet its 2025 production goals.
As EV exclusively reported on April 2, the carmaker has faced supply chain issues in ramping up production. A source familiar with the matter told EV back then that April volumes would be “very small,” and that higher-volume output likely wouldn’t begin until “June or July.”
Hawkins said at the keynote that “the automotive industry has felt an intense and acute vulnerability just this year,” amid the Trump administration’s shifting tariff policies.
“Our response is actually a continuation of our existing strategy, and that is forging partnerships with our supply base for long-term domestic supply, wherever it strategically makes sense,” the executive added.
The executive said 2025 has shown companies the importance of staying flexible and adjusting strategies as needed.
“I think what this year has taught us, if nothing else, is that we need to be continuously understanding and evaluating what resiliency means, what the risks to our companies are, [and] what our strategies should be in response,” he said.
Fewer parts help manage risks, cut sourcing needs and support sustainability efforts, Hawkins added.
“There’s fewer materials to source, process, deal with the end of life, recycle. Less mass engages in the benevolent cycle of efficiency,” he said.
Lucid Motors has been ramping up hiring and currently has nearly 800 open positions across Saudi Arabia, the US and Europe.
As of the time of writing, Lucid shares are trading 2.6% higher at $2.21. Year to date, the stock is down 26%.
