The big picture: Lucid Motors, Inc. CEO Peter Rawlinson has confirmed that the debut of its first luxury electric sedan is being pushed back to later this year due to Covid-19. A formal introduction will now take place when larger world events allow for it.
The electric automaker originally planned to showcase a production model of the Lucid Air at the New York International Auto Show. That event was to run from April 10 through April 19 but coordinators earlier this month postponed it until late August due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The auto show was supposed to be held at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. Instead, officials in the city have converted the facility into a temporary field hospital. They also brought in a US Navy hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, to help ease the strain on local hospitals.
Another potential location for the unveiling, the annual North American International Auto Show in Detroit, has been canceled outright this year. That venue, the TCF Center, is also being converted into a field hospital by FEMA workers.
In the meantime, Lucid is continuing to hire new employees and moving forward with talent acquisition strategies.
“Our supply chain remains totally committed and in a state of readiness for start of production for the Lucid Air,” Rawlinson told the Silicon Valley Business Journal in an emailed statement. The company is also in a sound financial position and has the funds needed to enter production when the time comes, he added.
The startup landed a $1 billion investment from Saudi Arabia in late 2018. Rawlinson said that relationship – and others with different investors – remains solid.
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