Lucid Prepares to Announce Partnership with Hyundai on Electric Motors
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Luxury electric vehicle startup Lucid Motors is reportedly gearing up to announce a partnership providing Hyundai’s premium brand, Genesis, with electric motors.
The collaboration aims to accelerate the development of a new all-electric sports car slated for a 2025 launch by Genesis. Additionally, Hyundai plans to release the GV90, an electric sport utility vehicle from Genesis by late 2025.
Lucid‘s involvement comes as the U.S. startup seeks to establish its second partnership following Aston Martin’s in mid-last year. Shares of the electric vehicle startup reached a new all time low at $2.29 in late April as Lucid continues reducing costs while preparing the launch of its SUV Gravity later this year.
Reports from local media outlet Sisa Journal claim that Hyundai Motor CEO Jang Jae-hoon visited Lucid‘s headquarters in California earlier this year to explore potential cooperation between the two automakers.
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Recent sightings of both Lucid Air and Gravity models in South Korea have fueled speculation about Hyundai’s potential partnership with Lucid. It’s speculated that Hyundai may have acknowledged Lucid’s technological prowess and proposed collaboration on technology.
An industry insider revealed to the local outlet, “Jang sent a photo of himself with Hyundai Chief Creative Officer Luke Donkerwolke and Lucid officials and reported the details of the trip to Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun.” The meeting purportedly centered on discussions regarding collaboration on electric motors.
The two companies are said to be in the final stages of negotiating the agreement, ironing out details such as the pricing of the electric motors and the specific models they will be integrated into.
As reported by EV on Friday, Lucid is cutting its workforce as part of a restructuring and cost reduction plan, according to former employees and some of the teams affected include vehicle engineering, IT, Human Resources, Powertrain, and Manufacturing.
In a statement, Lucid stated that will see “productivity improvements through a reduction of the Company’s current employee workforce by approximately 400 employees, or approximately 6 percent”.
Earlier this month, Lucid cautioned that its liquidity could only cover investments for the next 12 months. In an updated presentation following its first-quarter financial results, the startup reiterated its annual production guidance of 9,000 vehicles but warned investors that its cash reserves, cash equivalents, and investments are projected to last only until the second quarter of next year.
This guidance has raised concerns among investors about the potential need for further capital investment, coming just a few months after securing $1 billion from Saudi Arabia’s Private Fund.
In the first quarter of the year, the EV maker produced 1,728 units of its Air luxury sedan with deliveries reaching 1,967 vehicles, an increase of 39.9 percent compared to the same period of last year.
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In a recent interview at the Financial Times Car Summit, Lucid CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson said the company will not focus on developing an affordable model but on energy density technology instead.
Commenting on the development of the Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) technology, Lucid CEO predicts that the prices will continue to decrease over the next years.
“And the way that particularly LFP [battery tech] is going, that pack [could cost] under $3,000, maybe closer to $2,000 in a few years’ time. That is the enabler for the $20,000 car for the mass market,” he added.
Later in the interview, the chief executive said manufacturers from China are “many years behind Tesla” despite admitting “they’re a lot better than they’ve been”.
Lucid CEO admitted that Chinese OEMs have been improving a lot over the last years while expecting a second wave of improvement as the focus shifts to powertrain technology.
During the first quarter, the electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid delivered 1,967 vehicles, a nearly 40 percent growth compared to the first three months of last year. In the conference call that followed the earnings release, CEO Peter Rawlinson disclosed that over 500 of them were delivered to Saudi Arabia.
Lucid has reiterated its annual production guidance of 9,000 vehicles for 2024 despite warning investors that its cash reserves, cash equivalents, and investments are projected to last until the second quarter of next year.
The CEO Peter Rawlinson announced that the company’s midsize model will enter production in late 2026, with a price expected to be around $48,000.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
