Lucid (LCID) CEO predicts ‘exponential’ growth, and it’s not just from selling luxury EVs
Can Lucid (LCID) make 1 million EVs a year? CEO Peter Rawlinson said this is his vision, and Lucid has ambitious plans to achieve it. After launching its first electric SUV, the Gravity, Lucid will enter the mass market with its midsize platform starting at around $50,000. Rawlinson said this is “finally when we compete directly with Tesla,” but the EV maker has even bigger plans to drive growth.
After delivering the first Gravity models in December, Lucid’s CEO claims the electric SUV is “destined to be a landmark product” with an EPA-estimated range of 450 miles.
During the BloombergNEF Summit in San Francisco last week, Rawlinson explained how the company plans to become a powerhouse in the EV space.
Although the Gravity is an impressive-looking vehicle, loaded with tech and a true 7-seater (not a 5-seater, plus two kids in the back, as Rawlinson said many of its rivals offer), it’s what you can’t see that makes the electric SUV so unique.
The Gravity achieves up to 450 miles of driving range with a 123 kWh battery. Rawlinson said the fact that it can achieve such a long driving range with so few batteries is a testament to Lucid’s technology, which he claims is the “most advanced technology in the world.”
Lucid was the first to launch an EV with 520 miles range. At the Summit, Rawlinson claimed that “nobody today is within 100 miles of range of where we were three years ago,” referring to its luxury Air sedan.
Lucid delivered over 10,200 vehicles last year, up 70% from the 6,001 in 2023 and roughly 3,500 in 2022. Rawlinson said the company is seeing “exponential sales growth,” but he expects to see things pick up over the next few years.
Lucid is launching new EVs and tech to boost growth
Following the Gravity, Lucid will launch its midsize platform. The platform will underpin a sedan and crossover, starting at around $50,000. According to Rawlinson, this is when Lucid will “compete directly with Tesla” as direct rivals to the best-selling Model Y and Model 3.
However, as Rawlinson explained, “Lucid does not exist to be a niche luxury manufacturer.” Lucid is in the luxury space “at the moment” because it needs to be for financial support.
It’s the company’s tech that will be Lucid’s trademark. With some of the most advanced tech on the market, it will “cascade down,” reducing the cost to mass produce EVs.
“We want Lucid to be huge,” Rawlinson said. By the early 2030s, he envisions Lucid producing one million cars annually.
Lucid plans to achieve it through progressive steps. After launching the Air, Lucid’s first electric SUV is now hitting the market. In late 2026, Lucid is scheduled to begin production of its midsize platform.
Rawlinson believes Lucid will have a significant advantage by then. Since the battery is by far the biggest cost to make an EV, with some of the most efficient technology, Lucid will be able to offer a competitive range at a lower price point.
Not only that, but Lucid is also developing a new affordable “Atlas” drive unit. Rawlinson claimed the new drive unit will be “an absolute breakthrough” for Lucid and the planet to bring down EV costs.
The company is already licensing its technology to other automakers, which could be an even bigger business for Lucid than selling vehicles.
Last year, Lucid secured a tech partnership with Aston Martin to supply its proprietary powertrain tech for the British automaker’s upcoming electric cars.
Rawlinson said Lucid is in talks with several others about similar licensing partnerships. According to Lucid’s CEO, EV adoption will continue to climb over the next few years, and some OEMs will be left behind. “The train is leaving the station,” he said, and that’s why Lucid is open to strategic alliances through licensing its technology.
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Kia’s electric sports car will smoke a Ferrari and Lamborghini off the line, and it’s already less than half the cost. Now, Kia’s 576 horsepower EV6 GT is even cheaper to drive with nearly $20,000 in lease savings. Here’s how you can get your hands on one.
The EV6 GT arrived in 2022 as the “most powerful Kia production vehicle ever.” With up to 576 horsepower, Kia’s electric sports car can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds.
Kia went all out, adding fun features and different drive modes, such as “GT” and “drift.” The GT drive mode adjusts the vehicle’s motor, brakes, steering, suspension, and more for better performance.
To prove its power, Kia put its EV sports car up against a Ferrari Roma and Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder. Certified by an independent test from AMCI, the Kia EV6 GT beat both off the line. Not only is the Kia faster, but it’s also about half the cost.
The 2024 Kia EV6 GT starts at $61,600. A 2024 Ferrari Roma will run you about $245,000, while a new 2024 Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder starts at just over $300,000.
According to online car research firm CarsDirect, the 2024 Kia EV6 GT now features $19,050 in lease cash (24-month lease). With the option of Single Pay leases, you can also score lower lease rates.
If you’re looking for something with a little less performance (and a lower price), Kia is offering $10,000 in Customer Cash on all 2024 EV6 models. The EV6 Light Long Range RWD ($45,950 MSRP) is listed for lease at just $179 for 24 months, with $3,499 due upfront.
The discounts come with the new 2025 model year arriving, which has an even longer driving range (319 miles Kia-est) and an NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers. The new EV6 GT trim will also pull additional features from Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 N, including a Virtual Gear Shift (VGS) function.
Want to get behind the wheel of Kia’s electric sports car and test it out for yourself? You can use our link to find the best deals on the 2024 Kia EV6 (including the GT model) near you.
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Environment
India’s oil minister says ‘we play by the rules,’ as markets weigh U.S. energy sanctions
India will cooperate with international sanctions, the country’s oil minister told CNBC on Tuesday, as markets eye future U.S. policy under the new administration of President Donald Trump.
“We play by the rules. If there is an international sanction, which is anchored, we would not want to go around it or anything,” India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri told CNBC’s Sri Jegarajah on the sidelines of the annual India Energy Week conference.
“On Russia, yes, there was a price cap, and we adhered strictly to the price cap. Going forward, if there are issues, we will address them.”
India’s refiners have been snapping up discounted Russian oil since Western and G7 energy sanctions barred many consumers from Moscow’s supplies, in an effort to whittle down Russia’s war coffers after its invasion of Ukraine. Countries not subject to the measures have been able to use insurance and shipping providers to facilitate the acquisition and transport of Russian crude procured under a price threshold.
New Delhi has repeatedly defended its purchases as a matter of national interest.
“There is no sanctioned country, first of all. It’s a lot of misrepresentation that’s taking place. Today, Europe still buys 25% of its gas from Russia. They buy other critical energy from there. So there’s no sanction,” the energy minister said Tuesday.
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He also signaled that the government of Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, had endorsed India’s bolstered intake of Russian oil.
“I’ve had a chat with the Americans, the previous administration. They said, please buy as much as you like. Just make sure that you buy it within the price cap. And that’s what we did,” Puri said. CNBC has reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment.
India met about 88% of its oil needs via imports between April and November 2024, little changed from a year earlier, official data showed. As of January, about 40% of those imports came from Russia, data from trade intelligence firm Kpler suggests.
In 2021, Russian oil accounted for just 12% of the country’s oil imports by volume. By 2024, that share had surged to over 37%, according to Kpler data.
Sanctions in focus
The U.S. has been key in shaping global energy policy through sanctions over the past decade. In January, the U.S. imposed sweeping measures targeting Russia’s energy firms and the operators of vessels transporting oil — a move that analysts believe will make it harder for buyers like India to continue importing cheap Russian crude.
Investors have been waiting to see whether the newly installed Trump will pursue a ramp-up or relaxation of U.S. energy restrictions — critical to markets because the U.S. dollar denominates crude and oil product commodities.
Trump imposed sanctions affecting the Iranian and Venezuelan energy sectors during his first mandate and has taken an “America First” approach that could further incentivize domestic output — amid questions over the impact that threatened U.S. tariffs could have on global supply elsewhere.
Puri signaled his country would not be adverse to additional acquisitions of U.S. volumes. “If Americans are putting in more energy onto the global market, somebody asked me: ‘Are you going to buy more? I said: ‘I’d be surprised if we don’t.’ Because it’s in the natural flow,” he added.
The sanctions and trade developments are coinciding with a period when India’s oil consumption growth has outpaced that of China, contributing to 25% of the global increase in oil consumption.
“I am convinced that geopolitical tensions need to be managed,” Puri said Tuesday, noting current characterizations of supply-demand fundamentals in the oil market are “depending on whom you’re talking to and depending on where they stand on the equation,” as producers or consumers.
“A country like India, with a robust demand and a current consumption of 5.5 million barrels [per day] has a contribution to make in terms of which way the market goes. And we… we plan to use that leverage,” the oil minister added.
US EV prices held steady in January, and incentive spending dropped 3.1% from December, according to the latest monthly new-vehicle average transaction price (ATP) report from Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book.
Average transaction prices for EVs in January, at $55,614, were higher by nearly 1% compared to a downwardly revised December. EV prices last month were lower year-over-year by 1.4%. Incentive spending on EVs in January decreased by 3.1% compared to December but was higher by 48.6% year-over-year.
Overall, EV costs are falling – compared to the overall auto industry, EV ATPs were higher by 14.3%. A year ago, the price premium versus the industry was 17.4%.
ATPs for market leader Tesla, at $55,380, were higher year-over-year by 4.5%. Cybertruck prices fell year-over-year by 6.5% to just under $98,000. Model X prices were also lower year-over-year.
The two most popular EVs in the US, the Model Y and Model 3, both saw transaction prices increase year-over-year by 2.2% and 6.2%, respectively.
The $7,500 tax credit is now missing from the Tesla website. What will Tesla’s February sales volume look like?
As for total new-vehicle sales volume in January, it was higher year-over-year by 5.1% but lower by more than 25% compared to a robust December. New-vehicle inventory at the beginning of January was below 3 million units for the first time since late October.
Read more: In December, EV sales were still up and incentives were still sweet – Kelley Blue Book
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