BEV-Maker Lucid Opens Michigan Office

SOUTHFIELD, MI – Lucid Motors, looking to gain ready access to automotive suppliers, university researchers and automotive talent, has officially opened an office in suburban Detroit.

Eric Bach, senior vice president of product and chief engineer at Lucid, emphasizes that this is not an “outpost” for the Newark, CA-headquartered electric-vehicle manufacturer, but a “hub for talent.”

Presently there are about 70 people at the site, including engineers, supply-chain experts, finance and human-resources personnel, and others.

Gale Halsey, Lucid senior vice president of people, says the company is pursuing phase two of its southeastern Michigan expansion, which will include high-bay facilities, labs and more for development and testing.

Bach says within three years there could be some 250 Lucid personnel in the area, constituting what he calls a “mini-company.”

Why Detroit?

It might seem odd that a company based in Silicon Valley would be interested in setting up shop in Detroit, home of the “traditional” auto industry. But Bach, speaking at a meeting of the Automotive Press Assn. the day the Lucid office officially opened, says, “We need more talent, access to talent, and the ability to get talent quickly.”

Bach points out there are things common to battery-electric vehicles and vehicles with internal-combustion engines: “A hem flange in an EV is not different than a hem flange in an ICE vehicle.”

One of the things he emphasizes is that while considerable attention is given to software-defined vehicles – and the Lucid Air certainly checks that box – the mechanical portions of a vehicle are similarly important.

More Product

Bach points out Lucid is not only building more product in its factory in Casa Grande, AZ – he estimates they will build approximately 9,000 Air sedans this year – but there is more product in the pipeline.

The 3-row Gravity SUV is expected to launch by the end of this year. He says the Gravity has a six-times greater total addressable market than the Air does.

Then in 2026 Lucid will launch a midsize platform that will have multiple top hats.

Bach notes his colleague Derek Jenkins, senior vice president of design and brand, “leaked” that the design team is working on three top hats, which are thought to include a sedan, crossover and something else, about which there is only speculation.

While the Lucid Gravity is expected to have a starting price of less than $80,000, the midsize platform is expected to start under $50,000.

Bach says they anticipate the midsize platform could have a demand of some 1 million vehicles per year – “ideally two (million).”

What’s more, in addition to the new vehicles, Bach notes development work on the Air is continuing.

Asked about what he thinks OEMs need to do to address the current BEV market slowdown, Bach has a simple (but difficult to achieve) recommendation:

“Make awesome product people can’t resist.”