California-based electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, plans to enter the Middle East market in 2022, its chief executive said, after showcasing the company's first luxury electric sedan Air.
Lucid plans a phased global expansion with Saudi Arabia – the Arab world's largest economy – being its first entry point into the Middle East, chief executive Peter Rawlinson said in an interview with The National.
“Saudi Arabia is a huge market with a vast appetite for cutting-edge technologies. It will drive our growth further,” said Mr Rawlinson, who is the former vice president and chief engineer for Model S at Tesla.
Lucid was founded in 2007 under the name Atieva and was initially focused on building EV batteries. In 2016, it rebranded as Lucid Motors, moved away from being a supplier and pivoted towards making a rival luxury sedan to Tesla. In 2018, the PIF invested more than $1 billion (Dh3.67bn) in Lucid for a majority stake in the company and to help accelerate the manufacturing of its first EV.
The company plans to push into Europe as it expands in the Middle East. The auto maker is considering opening a production facility in Saudi Arabia, Mr Rawlinson said but declined to provide additional details.
“We are discussing that with PIF right now, we are looking to do some industrialisation … [we] really want to do something big there,” he said.
As it looks to scale up, Lucid will produce vehicles at its new factory in Arizona with delivery to the US customers beginning in the first quarter of next year. Customers in the Middle East can pre-order through the company's website by paying a refundable deposit of $1,000. The base model of Air starts at $72,500 and goes up to $161,000.
Lucid aims to produce up to 8,000 units of Air from its Arizona facility next year and then increase that to 25,000 and 34,000 in 2022 and 2023, respectively, Mr Rawlinson said.
“Our next vehicle will be a SUV that will go into production in early 2023. Collectively, we will be producing 80,000 units of sedans and SUVs by the end of that year,” he said.
PIF's backing enabled the company “to get this close to production”, he said. Money is going into car development, the construction of the Arizona plant and establishing sales and a network of stores, he added.
“We probably raise more [money] in order to accelerate our growth and to start working on our next product [SUV]. Within the next 12 months, we will open our office in Saudi,” Mr Rawlinson said.
Other investors of Lucid include Tokyo-based Mitsui and California’s venture capitalist Venrock.
The Air’s launch could challenge the dominance of Tesla – another PIF-backed company – in the EV market.
Tesla is currently the market leader, selling 370,000 units globally last year, according to McKinsey’s EV index. The car maker had a market share of about 16 per cent last year, up from 12 per cent in 2018.
“People love Tesla but their vehicles are not luxurious. We will be a bit high-end than Tesla, but at the same time not too high that our production volumes are low. We want to remain affordable,” said Mr Rawlinson.
“Our comparison with Tesla is quite understandable but our real competition is with gasoline-run luxury auto makers such as Mercedes and BMW,” he said.
The company claims Air will be the fastest-charging EV in the market, with a charging speed of more than 32 kilometres per minute, under controlled conditions.
In real-world conditions on the road, a charge of just 20 minutes should cover up to 483 kilometres.
“No other manufacturer is even close to it … in fact, many EVs don’t even travel that far in a single charge,” Mr Rawlinson said.
The company employs 4,000 staff and aims to add 800 more in the next one year. It is currently not focusing on profits.
“We can be profitable in one year or 18 months … that is not our focus as we are thinking big and want to be a real disrupter. We want to roll out new products and best in-house EV tech, so all the money will be reinvested in scaling further," Mr Rawlinson said.
Lucid may go public in a couple of years, he said, adding that he is not concerned about the downturn in the global economy due to the pandemic.
“We are offering the best car in the world and there is always a market for the best,” a confident Mr Rawlinson said.
“Moreover, there is a new found drive for sustainable mobility … people don’t want to fly so much or travel in train and buses. They want an eco-friendly personal space that is safe from the virus.”
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Jawan
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAtlee%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Nayanthara%2C%20Vijay%20Sethupathi%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (Turf) 1,400m. Winner: Al Ajeeb W’Rsan, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Jaci Wickham (trainer).
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m racing. Winner: Mujeeb, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 90,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Onward, Connor Beasley, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
6.30pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown Prep Rated Conditions (PA) Dh 125,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle.
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (T) 1,600m. Winner: AF Arrab, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 90,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Irish Freedom, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Floward%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERiyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdulaziz%20Al%20Loughani%20and%20Mohamed%20Al%20Arifi%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EE-commerce%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbout%20%24200%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAljazira%20Capital%2C%20Rainwater%20Partners%2C%20STV%20and%20Impact46%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C200%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
