There’s a price-cut war going on in electric vehicles (EVs), and it’s coming for the high end of the market. Lucid has slashed prices on its Air sedan by as much as $12,400.
What Is the Lucid Air?
California-based Lucid Motors is one of a bevy of electric car startups trying to compete with Tesla by, mostly, doing what Tesla did.
Lucid sells electric vehicles online without traditional dealerships.
Its first (and so far only) product is the Air sedan. Wide, low, and sleek, it has the distinction of having the longest range of any EV currently for sale in the U.S. – up to 520 miles between charges for some models.
A promised Air Sapphire model will take on the Tesla Model S Plaid high-performance edition. Lucid claims a 0-60 mph time of under two seconds for that car.
Lucid plans other models – the 2024 Lucid Gravity SUV is next on its list – but needs the Air to succeed to finance a larger lineup. Some analysts expect a culling of EV startups over the next several years. We wouldn’t be willing to guarantee that any of them will be around in five years. But Lucid has made thousands of actual deliveries – 2,810 in the first half of this year, according to trade publication Automotive News. That gives it a leg up on many competitors.
Automotive News reports that Lucid has $2.78 billion on hand after a recent investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. That may enable it to avoid the fate of rival Lordstown Motors, which recently declared bankruptcy after delivering just a few EVs to customers.
The Price Cuts
Lucid’s price cuts range from $5,000 to $12,400, depending on model. Lucid also charges a $1,500 destination fee to deliver its cars. The cars remain too expensive to qualify for the federal government’s $7,500 tax credit on electric cars.
Lucid says the offer will go on as long as supplies last.
| Trim Level | Old Price | New Price | Difference |
| Air Pure AWD | $87,400 | $82,400 | -$5,000 |
| Air Touring | $107,400 | $95,000 | -$12,400 |
| Air Grand Touring | $138,000 | $125,600 | -$12,400 |
EV Prices Are Crashing
The price of the average electric car has fallen 20% in one calendar year. That comes partly in response to a price-cut war initiated by Tesla early in 2023.
But it also comes in response to the complicated, evolving place of EVs in the American mind. Americans bought 300,000 new EVs last quarter – a record number. But automakers are also sitting on a backlog of many EV models for the first time.
Kelley Blue Book parent company Cox Automotive projects that EV sales will top 1 million for the first time in 2023. Many automakers expect them to make up the bulk of auto sales by the middle of next decade. But the public may have entered a period of partial disillusionment as the challenges of EV charging infrastructure become apparent.
Lucid says these price cuts are “limited-time offers,” “available on cars for immediate delivery.” That’s an offer you can only make if you have a supply of unsold cars available for immediate delivery – a new position for EV builders.
