California-based Lucid Motors Inc. revealed a production-ready version of its first model as the battle to dominate the auto industry’s future heats up between Silicon Valley and more-established car companies. On Wednesday evening, the 13-year-old company showed off its latest iteration of the Lucid Air, a luxury sedan it plans to start selling in early 2021 after years of struggling to raise funding. Lucid is among a wave of electric-vehicle startups getting closer to releasing their first models, looking to challenge traditional auto makers like General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG that are investing billions in the technology and Tesla Inc., a company that continues to dominate the scene for high-price battery-powered cars. Backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund, Lucid is taking aim at the luxury end of the market with the Air, hoping to not only carve into Tesla’s market share but also attract more conventional sedan buyers from BMW AG, Daimler AG ’s Mercedes-Benz and other premium brands, its executives say. Chief Executive Peter Rawlinson said that based on the company’s own testing, the priciest Air is expected to deliver a battery range of more than 500 miles, a distance that would beat current competitors, including the longest-range version of the Tesla Model S. The Environmental Protection Agency hasn’t certified that range yet.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 09, 2020 19:29 UTC