Lucid Motors begins Air Touring deliveries; Pure to follow this year
Less than two weeks after promising to unveil its full electric sedan lineup with the public, Lucid Motors has officially launched the Air Touring with the Air Pure to follow this year. Even as the lowest-tier version of Lucid’s flagship sedan, the Air Pure is promising 410 miles of range and 0-60 mph acceleration in under four seconds. Delicious.
Lucid Motors ($LCID) continues to grow its recognition as a luxury EV brand one year removed from the first deliveries of its flagship Air sedan, beginning with the limited-run Dream Edition. That version was eventually followed by the Air Grand Touring, which already saw a Performance upgrade earlier this year.
From the first announcement of the Air, Lucid has promised four different variations in addition to the two above. This includes both Air Touring and Air Pure. While we were given initial pricing (which has since changed) and a few breadcrumbs spec-wise, most of the pertinent details of those last two versions have remained on the DL.
As the American automaker continues to bolster its EV production in Arizona, it’s finally sharing some exciting updates ahead of a busy week in Southern California for Automobility LA. Now, just hours before it officially shares a company update that will include a look at its upcoming Gravity SUV, Lucid has shared details of its last two versions of the Air – Touring and Pure. Have a look.
Touring deliveries begin, Air Pure will follow in two configs
Lucid Motors shared the latest details of its last two Air variations in a press release this morning, mere hours before it streams live during its anticipated “In the Air and Beyond” event. This will be the first time the public gets to see all versions of the Air in one room, including the tri motor Air Sapphire, which is promising a blistering 0-60 mph in 1.89 seconds. Lucid Group CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson spoke:
Performance. Range. Luxury. Technology. Design. It’s all here in the newly expanded Lucid Air model lineup as Air Pure and Air Touring – with their remarkably spacious interiors – take their place alongside Air Grand Touring, Grand Touring Performance, and the recently announced Air Sapphire. Air Touring matches the landmark 4.6 miles per kWh efficiency of the Grand Touring – albeit at a more affordable price point – an important incremental step to making ultra-efficient EVs more attainable.
The Air Touring arrives as a dual-motor, AWD EV that delivers 620 horsepower and can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 3.4 seconds. Its 18-module long-range battery pack helps deliver the kWh efficiency Rawlinson mentions, as well as an EPA estimated range of 425 miles. Inside the cabin (see below), the Air Touring features seating surfaces wrapped in Nappa full-grain, carbon-neutral, leather alongside recycled textiles and synthetics. Its wood accents are sustainably harvested and feature an open pore finish with minimal coating.
The Air Touring comes standard with a solid aluminum roof, but can be upgraded to the full glass canopy to match its Air predecessors. According to Lucid, the first customer delivery of the Air Touring has been completed and will be followed by Air Pure deliveries before year’s end.
Lucid also shared that the Air Pure will come available in two different configurations, beginning with a dual-motor AWD drive option that will hit production at AMP-1 next month. A single motor RWD option will follow sometime next year, but that’s about all we know at this point.
Even as the “lowest-tier” version of the Air sedan, the AWD Pure will deliver 480 hp, 0-60 mph in 3.8 seconds, and an EPA estimated range of 410 miles. It can also replenish 200 miles of range in just 15 minutes on a DC fast charger thanks to Lucid’s Wunderbox system, standard on all models.
Like the Touring version, the Lucid Air Pure will come standard with the aluminum roof, but without the option to upgrade to the glass canopy. You can see the difference between the two roofs in the images above. Although it offers the lowest performance of any of the other Lucid Airs, the Pure is still one of the best EVs in the industry on paper. Here’s how it stacks up against its siblings:
Today marks the official launch of these next two versions of the Air, but this won’t be the only news we cover from Lucid Motors today. We will all have to tune in to its livestream event in a few hours to learn more about Air pricing and truly grasp the “Gravity” (wink wink) of its current EV lineup, in addition to what the automaker has in store for the future.
Speak soon.
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After a month off trying to wrap our heads around all the chaos surrounding EVs, solar, and everything else in Washington, we’re back with the biggest EV news stories of the day from Tesla, Ford, Volvo, and everyone else on today’s hiatus-busting episode of Quick Charge!
It just gets worse and worse for the Tesla true believers – especially those willing to put their money where Elon’s mouth is! One believer is set to lose nearly $50,000 betting on Tesla’s ability to deliver a Robotaxi service by the end of June (didn’t happen), and the controversial CEO’s most recent spat with President Trump had TSLA down nearly 5% in pre-morning trading.
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Hyundai is getting ready to shake things up. A new electric crossover SUV, likely the Hyundai IONIQ 2, is set to debut in the coming months. It will sit below the Kona Electric as Hyundai expands its entry-level EV lineup.
Is Hyundai launching the IONIQ 2 in 2026?
After launching the Inster late last year, Hyundai is already preparing to introduce a new entry-level EV in Europe.
Xavier Martinet, President and CEO of Hyundai Europe, confirmed that the new EV will be revealed “in the next few months.” It will be built in Europe and scheduled to go on sale in mid-2026.
Hyundai’s new electric crossover is expected to be a twin to the Kia EV2, which will likely arrive just ahead of it next year.
It will be underpinned by the same E-GMP platform, which powers all IONIQ and Kia EV models (EV3, EV4, EV5, EV6, and EV9).
Like the Kia EV3, it will likely be available with either a 58.3 kWh or 81.4 kWh battery pack option. The former provides a WLTP range of 267 miles while the latter is rated with up to 372 miles. All trims are powered by a single electric motor at the front, producing 201 hp and 209 lb-ft of torque.
Although it may share the same underpinnings as the EV2, Hyundai’s new entry-level EV will feature an advanced new software and infotainment system.
According to Autocar, the interior will represent a “step change” in terms of usability and features. The new system enables new functions, such as ambient lighting and sounds that adjust depending on the drive mode.
It’s expected to showcase Hyundai’s powerful new Pleos software and infotainment system. As an end-to-end software platform, Pleos connects everything from the infotainment system (Pleos Connect) to the Vehicle Operating System (OS) and the cloud.
Pleos is set to power Hyundai’s upcoming software-defined vehicles (SDVs) with new features like autonomous driving and real-time data analysis.
As an Android-based system, Pleos Connect features a “smartphone-like UI” with new functions including multi-window viewing and an AI voice assistant.
The new electric crossover is expected to start at around €30,000 ($35,400), or slightly less than the Kia EV3, priced from €35,990 ($42,500). It will sit between the Inster and Kona Electric in Hyundai’s lineup.
Hyundai said that it would launch the first EV with its next-gen infotainment system in Q2 2026. Will it be the IONIQ 2? Hyundai is expected to unveil the new entry-level EV at IAA Mobility in September. Stay tuned for more info. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
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Tesla has unveiled its lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cell factory in Nevada and claims that it is nearly ready to start production.
Like several other automakers using LFP cells, Tesla relies heavily on Chinese manufacturers for its battery cell supply.
Tesla’s cheapest electric vehicles all utilize LFP cells, and its entire range of energy storage products, Megapacks and Powerwalls, also employ the more affordable LFP cell chemistry from Chinese manufacturers.
This reliance on Chinese manufacturers is less than ideal and particularly complicated for US automakers and battery pack manufacturers like Tesla, amid an ongoing trade war between the US and virtually the entire world, including China.
As of last year, a 25% tariff already applied to battery cells from China, but this increased to more than 80% under Trump before he paused some tariffs on China. It remains unclear where they will end up by the time negotiations are complete and the trade war is resolved, but many expect it to be higher.
Prior to Trump taking power, Tesla had already planned to build a small LFP battery factory in the US to avoid the 25% tariffs.
The automaker had secured older manufacturing equipment from one of its battery cell suppliers, CATL, and planned to deploy it in the US for small-scale production.
Tesla has now released new images of the factory in Nevada and claimed that it is “nearing completion”:
Here are a few images from inside the factory (via Tesla):
Previous reporting stated that Tesla aims to produce about 10 GWh of LFP battery cells per year at the new factory.
The cells are expected to be used in Tesla’s Megapack, produced in the US. Tesla currently has a capacity to produce 40 GWh of Megapacks annually at its factory in California. The company is also working on a new Megapack factory in Texas.
Ford is also developing its own LFP battery cell factory in Michigan, but this facility is significantly larger, with a planned production capacity of 35 GWh.
Electrek’s Take
It’s nice to see this in the US. LFP was a US/Canada invention, with Arumugam Manthiram and John B. Goodenough doing much of the early work, and researchers in Quebec making several contributions to help with commercialization.
But China saw the potential early and invested heavily in volume manufacturing of LFP cells and it now dominates the market.
Tesla is now producing most of its vehicles with LFP cells and all its stationary energy storage products.
It makes sense to invest in your own production. However, Tesla is unlikely to catch up to BYD and CATL, which dominate LFP cell production.
The move will help Tesla avoid tariffs on a small percentage of its Megapacks produced in the US. Ford’s effort is more ambitious.
It’s worth noting that both Ford’s and Tesla’s LFP plants were planned before Trump’s tariffs, which have had limited success in bringing manufacturing back to the US.
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