PHOENIX — Lucid Motors became the latest startup automaker to begin production of electric vehicles as the company’s first sedans rolled off the assembly line Tuesday.
Lucid said the first customer-ready Air luxury electric sedans were completed at its assembly plant in Casa Grande, Ariz., about 47 miles southeast of downtown Phoenix. Deliveries to customers will begin in late October, the company said.
“Our technology will allow for increasingly lighter, more efficient, and less expensive EVs, and today represents a major step in our journey to expand the accessibility of more sustainable transportation,” Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson said in a statement.
The start of Lucid Air assembly comes just two weeks after fellow startup Rivian began production of its R1T electric pickup in Illinois. Lucid and Rivian enter an electric market that has long been dominated by Tesla, even as more traditional automakers come to market with EV offerings of their own.
Air deliveries will begin with the limited-run Dream Edition, which gets up to 520 miles of range and starts at $169,000, not including shipping or a $7,500 federal tax credit. Lucid is making 520 of those models before delivering other iterations, including the Air Pure base model, which starts at $77,400.
The automaker said Tuesday that it had received more than 13,000 Air reservations, up from about 10,000 in June.
Lucid’s Arizona plant is being constructed in several phases, the first of which was completed in December for $700 million. The first phase, at 1 million square feet, has annual capacity of 34,000 vehicles. Lucid plans for the factory to ultimately expand to 5 million square feet, with the ability to produce 400,000 vehicles annually.
The Air was originally slated for a spring launch before Lucid said in February that it would delay production to the second half of the year because of the coronavirus pandemic.