Lucid Motors unveils the Air, a new luxury electric car with a 400-mile range

Lucid Air

California-based Lucid Motors revealed its first car today, a fully-electric sedan aimed at the “executive" market, with a 400-mile range rating from its onboard 100kWh battery, a 2.5 second 0-60mph time, and a target market date of 2018. The vehicle prototype was shown off today at a special unveiling event in Fremont, California.

Lucid’s founding team includes CTO Peter Rawlinson, a former Tesla team member, as well as Derek Jenkins, previously of Mazda and VW, and BMW alum Brian Barron. The Lucid Motorsplan is to build these electric vehicles starting in 2017 in Arizona, at a new factory facility that’s set to bring around 2,000 new jobs to the sate according to the company and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey.

Lucid also has a partnership in place with Samsung SDI, the battery-focused subsidiary of the Korean tech giant. Lucid has raised over $130 million across three rounds of venture funding, including from the Chinese Environmental Fund.

Lucid’s vehicle looks interesting, but it’s going to be a very different market in 2018 when this car launches, with EV entries from many of the major luxury brands joining the fray at around the same time. The challenge will be getting to the starting line, but new players still might have some advantages over legacy automakers when it comes to electric, even if the established brands are accelerating their EV plans.