Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors is preparing to start mass production later this year of its second model, the sports utility vehicle named Gravity. The first deliveries of the company’s first model, the Lucid Air, took place in September 2021.
In a new Youtube video, where Rawlinson tours the company’s manufacturing plant in Arizona, the CEO revealed that Lucid‘s newly created platform architecture involves a new automated line with “no less than 247 robots”.
“Inside a brand new building that we’ve constructed as part of our AMP1 facility here in Casa Grande, Arizona, we’ve set up the automation to build the aluminum body shell of the Gravity SUV,” Rawlinson explained.
“To make it the best SUV possible, we’ve created a new platform architecture, necessitating a completely new automated line with no less than 247 robots, including some of the biggest and best robots in the world today,” the CEO added. Below is the full episode from Lucid.
Currently, the robotic systems are in the training phase, preparing for the production of pre-production cars this summer.
“We’ve got a body shell in place, and we’re training the robots back and forth in readiness for the production of our pre-production cars in a few weeks,” Rawlinson noted.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Rawlinson touched upon Lucid’ strategic approach to autonomous driving and its competitive stance in the electric vehicle market.
“Tesla is slightly ahead of us in autonomous driving, but not by much. They’re not at Level 3; they’re at Level 2 plus something. This is intentional, as I’ve chosen to be a fast follower. In most other areas, though, we’re significantly ahead,” Rawlinson stated.
Rawlinson also reflected on his pivotal role at Tesla before founding Lucid Motors. “Elon Musk called me in Jan. I joined Tesla by Feb 2009, long before a Model S prototype existed. Tesla had been working on it for a year, but it wasn’t going to work. In my first week, I told him we needed to start from scratch, and he agreed.”
Recently, at the Evercore ISI 3rd Annual Global Summit, the chief executive revealed that the company is in discussions with several companies regarding potential licensing deals for its technology.
Rawlinson highlighted the company’s strategic focus on not just producing high-end vehicles, but also influencing the mass market to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility.
As recently reported by local media in South Korea, Lucid Motors is reportedly gearing up to announce a partnership providing Hyundai’s premium brand, Genesis, with electric motors.
The collaboration aims to accelerate the development of a new all-electric sports car slated for a 2025 launch by Genesis. Additionally, Hyundai plans to release the GV90, an electric sport utility vehicle from Genesis by late 2025.
During the first quarter, the electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid delivered 1,967 vehicles, a nearly 40 percent growth compared to the first three months of last year. In the conference call that followed the earnings release, CEO Peter Rawlinson disclosed that over 500 of them were delivered to Saudi Arabia.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
