US trademark filings hint at what Lucid Motors might name its upcoming ‘Mid-Size’ EVs
Have you heard of the Lucid Earth? What about the Lucid Space or Palos? Some of these trademark filings submitted by Lucid Motors have already been submitted and abandoned, but some still appear very much in play. Could one end up being the official name of Lucid’s upcoming “Mid-Size” EVs?
Today’s latest push in the rumor mill is riddled with speculation, but it’s all we’ve got to cling onto at this point as details of Lucid Motors’ ($LCID) third EV model(s) have remained light, including its potential name. It was fall 2023 when Lucid CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson revealed Lucid was working on a new model priced around $50,000 that would directly target Tesla – more specifically, its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
While original reports said we’d see the new EV(s) by the end of the decade, Rawlinson set the record straight last December, stating the project was already well into development and is targeted to launch mid-decade.
During a visit to Lucid’s AMP-1 facility in Arizona this past December, Rawlinson teased the mass-market EV again, revealing its current name, “Project Mid-size,” while once again reiterating the American automaker has the Model 3 and Model Y in its sights. Rawlinson shared the following details at the time during an interview with Electrek:
Mid-size is a super exciting program. The whole point of all of this is to establish ourselves in this luxury segment and then take all the attributes, all the capability, and a version of the technology and go mainstream. That’s what that car represents, and it has all of that, surprisingly. So stay tuned. We’re going to say as much as we can as soon as we can, but I will say the design is fairly solidified at this point, but there are still things being reviewed,
In April, we toured Lucid’s design studio in the Bay Area and even got a peak at the clay versions of “Mid-Size.” However, from what we heard from the team, its name is still very much in the air (no pun intended). That being said, trademark filings from earlier this year detail some names Lucid might, at the very least, consider for Mid-Size when it debuts.
Lucid is mulling several different names for “Mid-Size”
When we stood on the design floor in Newark, California, Lucid’s Senior Vice President of Design and Brand Derek Jenkins and CEO Peter Rawlinson walked us around two sheeted examples of Mid-Size in the works. One was a more passenger-friendly SUV and the other a more rugged off-road style with bigger tires and a roof rack.
We learned a lot about Lucid’s third model that day, but there was an interesting exchange between the two executives, who very clearly have not been able to agree on a name for Mid-Size just yet. It’s okay; they’ve got some time, as we don’t expect to see this model until 2026 at the earliest.
Still, that doesn’t mean we can’t sleuth a little to see what names Lucid may or may not be pondering for Project Mid-Size, and January filings with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) offered some tasty bits to wet our beaks while we await official word.
According to multiple trademark filings submitted by Lucid Motors, some model names it is pondering for future models include the following:
- Lucid Earth/ Earth Dream Edition
- Lucid Cross Air
- Lucid Air Cross
- Lucid Airspace
Additionally, two filings for “Lucid Space” have been submitted, one abandoned and the other still pending. Same with “Earth,” – one is pending, and another is dead. Other dead name filings include “Palos,” “Pure Spec,” and “Air 9.”
Take these names with a grain of salt, as there are absolutely zero guarantees any of these names will make it onto the rear of Lucid’s Mid-Size EVs, but the automaker is clearly brainstorming the nomenclature and has liked a few enough to at least trademark them in case they use it in the future.
With a 2026 targeted launch in the pipeline, it will likely take some time before we get an official confirmation on the name of Mid-Size (they have to finish designing the EVs first). Still, this is a nice little teaser that adds to the imagination of what Lucid Motors will come up with next.
We are very much looking forward to learning more.
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Powered by tech giant Huawei 5G-Advanced network, a fleet of over 100 Huaneng Ruichi all-electric autonomous haul trucks and heavy equipment assets have been deployed at the Yimin open-pit mine in Inner Mongolia.
With more than 100 units on site, China’s state-backed Huaneng Group officially deployed the world’s largest fleet of unmanned electric mining trucks at the Yimin coal plant in Inner Mongolia this past week. The autonomous trucks use the same Huawei Commercial Vehicle Autonomous Driving Cloud Service (CVADCS) powered by the ame 5G-Advanced (5G-A) network that powers its self-driving car efforts. Huawei says it’s the key to enabling the Yimin mine’s large-scale vehicle-cloud-network synergy.
Huawei is calling the achievement a “world’s first,” saying the new system has improved operator safety at Yimin while setting new benchmarks for AI and autonomous mining.
The autonomous mine project aligns with a broader push by Chinese government and industry to integrate AI and advanced connectivity into traditional industries – an approach we’ve already seen meet with great success in port environments by Hesai and Westwell.
And, if technology like Rocsys’ charging robots take off, these autonomous haul trucks won’t even need anyone to plug them in at the end of their shifts!
For their part, Huaneng Ruichi claims its cabin-less electric offer an industry-leading 90 metric ton rating (that’s about 100 imperial tons) and the ability operate continually in extreme cold temperatures as low as -40° (it’s the same, C or F), while delivering 20% more operational efficiency than a human-driven truck.
The Huawei-issued press release is a bit light on truck specs, but similar 90 tonne electric units claim 350 or 422 kWh LFP battery packs and up to 565 hp from their electric drive motors and some 2,300 Nm (1,700 lb-ft) of tq from 0 rpm.
Huawei executives said the Ruichi trucks reflect the company’s vision for smarter mining operations, with the potential to introduce similar technologies in markets like Africa and Latin America. The 100 asset electric fleet marks the first phase of a plan to deploy 300 autonomous trucks at the Yimin mine by 2028.
Electrek’s Take
From drilling and rigging to heavy haul solutions, companies like Huaneng Group are proving that electric equipment is more than up to the task of moving dirt and pulling stuff out of the ground. At the same time, rising demand for nickel, lithium, and phosphates combined with the natural benefits of electrification are driving the adoption of electric mining machines while a persistent operator shortage is boosting demand for autonomous tech in those machines.
The combined factors listed above are rapidly accelerating the rate at which machines that are already in service are becoming obsolete – and, while some companies are exploring the cost/benefit of converting existing vehicles to electric, the general consensus seems to be that more companies will be be buying more new equipment more often in the years ahead – and more of that equipment will be more and more likely to be autonomous as time goes on.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Huawei, South China Morning Post, and Supply Chain Digital.
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Tesla has started accepting Cybertruck trade-ins, something that wasn’t the case more than a year after deliveries of the electric pickup truck started.
We are starting to see why Tesla didn’t accept its own vehicle as a trade-in: the depreciation is insane.
The Cybertruck has been a commercial flop.
When Tesla started production and deliveries in late 2023, the vehicle was significantly more expensive and had less performance than initially announced.
At one point, Tesla boasted having over 1 million reservations for the electric pickup truck, but only about 40,000 people ended up converting their reservations into orders.
Now, Cybertruck inventory is sitting unsold for months and Tesla is having to offer heavy discounts to move them.
We previously reported that Tesla refused to accept the Cybertruck, its own vehicle, as a trade-in more than a year after starting deliveries.
Tesla didn’t share an explanation at the time, but we assumed that the automaker knew the Cybertruck was depreciating at an incredible rate and didn’t want to be stuck with more trucks than it was already dealing with.
Now, Tesla has started taking Cybertruck trade-ins, at least for the Foundation Series, and it is now providing estimates to Cybertruck owners (via Cybertruck Owners Club):
Tesla sold a brand-new 2024 Cybertruck AWD Foundation Series for $100,000. Now, with only 6,000 miles on the odometer, Tesla is offering $65,400 for it – 34.6% depreciation in just a year.
Pickup trucks generally lose about 20% of their value after a year and 34% after about 3-4 years.
It’s also wroth nothing that Tesla’s online “trade-in estimates” are often higher than the final offer as noted in the footnote o fhte screenshot above.
Electrek’s Take
This is already extremely high depreciation, but Tesla is actually trying to save face with estimates like this one.
As Tesla wouldn’t even accept Cybertruck trade-ins, used car dealers also slowed down their purchases as they also didn’t want to be caught with the trucks sitting on their lots for too long.
On Car Guru, the Cybertruck’s depreciation is actually closer to 45% after a year and that’s more representative of the offers owners should expect from dealers.
That’s entirely Tesla’s fault. The company created no scarcity with the Foundation Series. They built as many as people wanted. In fact, they built too many and ended having to “buff out” the Foundation Series badges on some units to sell them as regular Cybertrucks and as of last month, Tesla still had some Cybertruck Foundations Series in inventory – meaning they have been sitting around for up to 6 months.
Now, Tesla is stuck with thousands of Cybertrucks, early owners are already getting rid of their vehicles at an impressive rate, and the automaker had to slow production to a crawl.
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Australian logistics company Linfox is making big moves to electrify its heavy-duty semi fleet with the addition of thirty new Volvo FH and FM Electric semi trucks as the Swedish brand works to begin production at its Brisbane facility.
Volvo Trucks is expecting to begin full scale production of its FH and FM Electric semi trucks at the Brisbane factory in early 2026, just in time to fill the Linfox order – which happens to be the company’s largest in Australia. So far.
“We are very proud to continue our close partnership with Linfox. The order for 30 Volvo electric trucks is proof of their trust in our company and in zero-emissions transport as a viable solution here and now,” said Roger Alm, President Volvo Trucks. “Our commitment to start building electric trucks in Australia demonstrates our confidence in this technology, and means we can offer an industry-leading range of purpose-built electric trucks all around the world.”
With the production kickoff of electric trucks in Australia, it means Volvo Trucks is building its big HDEVs and prime movers in five countries on three continents. Which, as the company’s electric fleet approaches the 100 millionth mile logged mark, probably means they’re pulling well ahead of some of the other guys.
“Linfox is excited to partner with Volvo in driving the future and leading sustainable logistics in Australia,” explains Peter Fox AM (Member of the Order of Australia), Executive Chairman of Linfox. “Further electrifying our fleet sets the standard for us and our customers and the entire industry.”
Linfox’ latest order includes 29 Volvo FH Electric and one FM Electric semi. The company currently has four electric Volvo trucks in its fleet of 195 semis, with plans to continue to electrify as ICE-powered assets reach retirement.
Electrek’s Take
Now counting miles in operation in the tens of millions and rolling out its third generation of electric semi trucks, Volvo (and, by extension, Mack and Renault) continue to build a huge lead in the commercial trucking space. The competition, meanwhile, seems content to post pictures of its first factory while trucks that have been on order for years still haven’t reached customers.
I can’t see how they (Tesla) catch up from here.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo Trucks.
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