Luxury Electric Car Startup Lucid Motors Shares its Direct to Customer Sales Strategy

author: FutureCar Staff    

The fully-electric Lucid Air sedan

California electric luxury car startup Lucid Motors continues its plans to take on Tesla with its high tech and luxurious Lucid Air sedan. The company is preparing its retail sales and service network, which will consist of "Lucid Studio" showrooms where customers can experience the Air sedan in virtual reality and have questions answered by Lucid product experts. 

Lucid Motors shared today additional details about its retail strategy, as well as specific locations for its retail network, service support, and plans for future growth. Lucid is adopting Tesla's sales model of having no dealerships, instead the EV startup is selling its vehicle directly to customers.

Lucid is partnering with leading California-based design firms to build a network of Lucid Studio retail spaces that reflect the company's unique design aesthetic. The showrooms will draw inspiration from Lucid's home state of California, including nature. The retail spaces will showcase design colors and materials will represent specific locations in California.

The studios are being designed to be technology hubs offering customers a digital experience, such as Lucid's Virtual Reality (VR) Experience. The VR experience will allow customers to explore the Air's interior and exterior.

"We thoughtfully developed Lucid's retail strategy to provide customers with very specific experiences when they enter our studios and engage with our representatives," said Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO, Lucid Motors. "From the materials they view and touch, the experience of the VR configurator, the design of the studios in the context of the vehicles, and along with the physical locations of the studios themselves, everything comes together for our customers to absorb and appreciate the values infused into the Lucid brand."

For any service needs, Lucid is developing a service strategy where the Lucid service team will come to a customer's location using mobile service vans. The company will use certified partners for roadside assistance for the Air sedan, such as a flat tire. In addition the Lucid Air will support over-the-air updates and remote diagnostics.

Lucid recently opened its first studio at its Silicon Valley headquarters in Newark, California. The company sent invites to reservation holders to visit and see a production version of the Lucid Air sedan.

Eight additional Lucid Studios are expected to open this year in New York City, Miami and West Palm Beach Florida, as well as in various locations in California, including Beverly Hills, Santa Clara, and Los Angeles.

The Santa Clara studio in Silicon Valley and Beverly Hills will feature service centers. More locations are planned for New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, as well as in Europe.

Lucid Motors will unveil the production version of the Air sedan at New York Auto Show next month. In addition to the vehicle's final interior and exterior designs, new details on production specifications, available configurations and pricing will be shared next month at the show.

The Lucid Studio virtual reality experience at the company's headquarters in Silicon Valley.

Lucid Motors traces its roots back to Tesla. Before becoming CEO and CTO of Lucid Motors, Rawlinson was chief designer of the Tesla Model S and worked under Chief Executive Elon Musk. In 2013, Rawlinson joined Lucid Motors with a goal to build an electric car to rival the Tesla Model S, with a much more advanced electric powertrain and luxury features.

In July 2019, Lucid Motors announced that it hired former Tesla vice president of manufacturing Peter Hochholdinger to serve as its vice president of vehicle manufacturing. Hochholdinger will oversee production of the Air sedan.

Lucid Motors is manufacturing 80 beta prototypes of the Air sedan at the company's Silicon Valley headquarters, which will be used for comprehensive testing and validation before final production begins. The company is tuning the Air's software for traction and stability control, braking, and steering systems, as well as body and chassis durability.

Lucid Motors announced last month that battery manufacturer LG Chem will supply the batteries for the Air.

The Lucid Air will enter production at the end of 2020 and the company's new factory currently under construction in Casa Grande, Arizona. While there is no official word yet on pricing, its likely to be close in price to its closest competitor the Tesla Model S.

FutureCar Staff