Lucid Motors announced discounts on its top-range Lucid Air Sedan variants for the second time. The result is possible because Tesla cuts prices for its vehicles. Many automakers are continuing to announce discounted prices. Earlier, Lucid cut Air leases by $7,500. Now, there is another discount of a limited-time $7,500 for purchasing Lucid Air Touring and Grand Touring variants.
In January, Lucid announced a similar $7,500 discount on the Air sedan. However, that discount only applied to vehicle leases, limiting its impact and making options from competitors like Tesla and Mercedes all that more attractive. The Lucid Air Touring edition starts at $107,400, and, thanks to the discount, it is now a sub $100,000 vehicle. The same cannot be said of the Lucid Air Grand Touring, which starts at $138,000. The aforementioned Air Pure base model remains the cheapest offering from the company, starting at $87,400, though it is not included in the current $7,500 discount.
Lucid is still attempting to find its footing within the auto industry, especially as larger and more prominent brands have entered the market. Specifically, the Mercedes EQS sedan is often drawn parallel to the Lucid Air, despite a substantial difference in performance capabilities. Yet it seems like the plucky startup has still carved out its own niche, working towards a massive ramp in production this year and the introduction of a new model in the near future.
EV discounts
It remains unclear if Lucid’s new discount is enough to lure potential Mercedes or Tesla customers. With the ever-growing number of electric luxury offerings, competition will only intensify. But time and time again, Lucid has run into this issue, and it seems to keep going. Hopefully, this year will be far more fruitful for the luxury EV maker and the EV market overall.
“We think our customers still deserve a $7,500 credit for choosing an EV,” said Zak Edson, Lucid’s Vice President of Sales and Service. Lucid said in November that it had more than 34,000 orders in the third quarter, down by 3,000 from the second quarter, after it delivered about 1,400 vehicles and saw cancellations. The company’s cars are not eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act passed in August last year as the price cap for the benefit stands at $55,000. Air Touring retails from $107,400, while the Grand Touring model starts at $138,000.
Ford has also slashed prices of its electric crossover Mustang Mach-E by as much as $5,900 in response to Tesla’s price cuts. The battle has made it much more difficult for money-losing U.S. startups such as Rivian Automotive Inc and Lucid to grab market share at a time when high borrowing costs and inflation have pinched consumer wallets.
