Lucid Earth (midsize crossover): ready by summer 2027?

[hmp10]

What I heard is because of tariffs....by importing from Saudi, they pay less. Also, the cars built in Saudi will be bought by Saudi Gov under the agreement to buy 100k vehicles. Every car built in Saudi will be sold - 150k capacity- sent to Europe, Asia ( when they open sales), Middle East sales, Saudi Gov committment with some cars initially sent to US.

But Mark Winterhoff claimed in an interview that Lucid was fairly well insulated from tariffs for components as they were sourcing most key components domestically. And cars built domestically will have no import tariffs levied on the cars themselves.

 

[DrJBell]

My wife’s lease on a ‘23 Hyundai Ioniq 5 ends August 2027. Is it reasonable to eye a Lucid midsize (hopefully crossover) by summer 2027? As a Lucid Air Touring owner myself I think she would like that, especially if the price will indeed be roughly $50K as rumored.

It’s her car, but, I drive it when the family drives together, so her car is important to me too . BTW, she never drives my cars.

As weird as it sounds, I tend to plan things very early. She loves the Ioniq 5, so the obvious choice is staying with Hyundai. But I think she can do better.

Only thing to also consider is that the vehicle will first be manufactured in Saudi Arabia not the US so depending on what this administration has in place based on tariffs might be a consideration

 

[Need4Sleep]

Here you go:

Taoufiq Boussaid, Chief Financial Officer:

But we found ourselves in a fortunate space having the option to manufacture a car in KSA. And what it does is that it allows us basically to import from China part of the bill of material without having to incur the significant duty.

So, again, it will be a transition. Things will be shifting. I mean, OEMs and Tier 1s, Tier 2s, Tier 3s are looking at options and relocating their supply chains in North America. It's not something that can happen overnight. It will take some time. But for the time being, and given the time frame that we have to get this car ready, we find ourselves in a very comfortable spot being able to import this bill of material out of that.

Unidentified Participant, Analyst:

And sorry, before we sort of move on to some of the other pros and challenges, but when you say parts, are you mainly talking batteries?

Taoufiq Boussaid, Chief Financial Officer:

Well, batteries are part of it, but I mean there are many other equipments which would be sourced

I recall listening on an interview with Marc where he discussed Lucid creating motor variants that do have heavy rare-earth metals, medium rare earth, rare-earth-free versions, etc. I also recall seeing LFP job postings in the Lucid careers page. So, I wouldn't be surprised if they could have specific motor + battery combinations that could be using parts from China. Either way, it was nice to hear that they do have variants that can address tariff concerns.

I also recall seeing another post in this forum some time ago where someone got an invitation to the Lucid factory in KSA and they did mention about the tooling work to get the factory there ready for midsize.

 

[hmp10]

I recall listening on an interview with Marc where he discussed Lucid creating motor variants that do have heavy rare-earth metals, medium rare earth, rare-earth-free versions, etc. I also recall seeing LFP job postings in the Lucid careers page. So, I wouldn't be surprised if they could have specific motor + battery combinations that could be using parts from China. Either way, it was nice to hear that they do have variants that can address tariff concerns.

I also recall seeing another post in this forum some time ago where someone got an invitation to the Lucid factory in KSA and they did mention about the tooling work to get the factory there ready for midsize.

With Trump putting so much pressure on U.S. automakers to turn away from EVs while other markets turn more toward them, I think it is wise for Lucid to set its sights more on other markets, remembering that Lucid has long planned to use Saudi Arabia for its manufacturing base to support European sales.

We in this country are deliberately giving away the lead in electric propulsion that Tesla and other companies have striven to take. In fact, once the protectionism blinkers that keep us from seeing Chinese progress fall away, it will finally dawn on us that China is on the cusp of dominating a space globally that could have been ours. Instead, we are becoming the main outpost of the retro fossil fuel movement . . . just as we are stepping down from leadership in pure science research, medical science, and a host of other technology-based disciplines.

 

[Leftlane]

Just saw this in Munich - my wife has no idea why I wanted to take a picture of it. Didn’t see a single one driving anywhere, and very few Teslas surprisingly, but a lot of Nio and BYD and other brands.

 

[gaskiller]

But Mark Winterhoff claimed in an interview that Lucid was fairly well insulated from tariffs for components as they were sourcing most key components domestically. And cars built domestically will have no import tariffs levied on the cars themselves.

They took a 13% hit due to tariffs , mentioned in last earnings call.

 

[gaskiller]

With Trump putting so much pressure on U.S. automakers to turn away from EVs while other markets turn more toward them, I think it is wise for Lucid to set its sights more on other markets, remembering that Lucid has long planned to use Saudi Arabia for its manufacturing base to support European sales.

We in this country are deliberately giving away the lead in electric propulsion that Tesla and other companies have striven to take. In fact, once the protectionism blinkers that keep us from seeing Chinese progress fall away, it will finally dawn on us that China is on the cusp of dominating a space globally that could have been ours. Instead, we are becoming the main outpost of the retro fossil fuel movement . . . just as we are stepping down from leadership in pure science research, medical science, and a host of other technology-based disciplines.

In a decade, the big 3 in Detroit will be in a lot of trouble. Solid state batteries will be here and they will be struggling to make good EVs. Short term profits but no long term vision.Detroit will be confined to selling gas guzzlers in North America while China takes over the rest of the world. I will never forgive Detroit for making Americans buy huge polluting monstrous vehicles that most never need just for their profits. You need to buy an SUV so you can feel safe around other huge trucks and SUVs. It’s a vicious cycle. Shame on them!

 

[gaskiller]

But Mark Winterhoff claimed in an interview that Lucid was fairly well insulated from tariffs for components as they were sourcing most key components domestically. And cars built domestically will have no import tariffs levied on the cars themselves.

From AI

• Q3 2025 Impact: Tariffs had a 13-point negative impact on the GAAP gross margin for Q3 2025. The company did not specify a single dollar amount for the Q3 tariff hit in the same way it did for Q2.
• Comparison to Q2: The Q3 impact was a reduction from the 21 percentage point hit on the gross margin value experienced in the second quarter of 2025. The Q2 tariff hit was a specific $54 million.
• Full-Year Outlook: Lucid anticipated the full-year 2025 tariff impact to be between 8% and 10% on the gross margin value, a decrease from the earlier range of 8% to 15%, due to efforts in localized sourcing.

 

[Daniel2022AT]

In a decade, the big 3 in Detroit will be in a lot of trouble. Solid state batteries will be here and they will be struggling to make good EVs. Short term profits but no long term vision.Detroit will be confined to selling gas guzzlers in North America while China takes over the rest of the world. I will never forgive Detroit for making Americans buy huge polluting monstrous vehicles that most never need just for their profits. You need to buy an SUV so you can feel safe around other huge trucks and SUVs. It’s a vicious cycle. Shame on them!

Detroit never “made them buy” anything, it is a free market. Do you also blame consumers for demanding large gas guzzling SUV’s? How about blaming the Korean, Japanese, and Germans that also make them?

 

[Steveinarizona]

There are already at least eight midsized SUV EVs available:
Toyota BZ4X
Chevy Blazer / Honda Prologue / Acura ZDX
Mercedes EQB
Volkswagon ID.4
Audi Q4 e-tron / Q4 e-tron Sportback

Coming in the first half of 2026:
BMW iX3
Jeep Recon
Rivian R2

You left out the Genesis GV60 which is CR's highest rated SUV and the somewhat similar Porsche Macan Electric.

 

[DeaneG]

You left out the Genesis GV60 which is CR's highest rated SUV and the somewhat similar Porsche Macan Electric.

Yes, an oversight, as both of these have been on my mind, along with the Cayenne EV.

I also forgot Volvo's new EX60, to be revealed in a month on Jan 21st.
Rumors for the EX60 are a WLTP range of about 830km > iX3 at 805km > Gravity at 748km, and 350kW charging at 800V.
And for me, native Google navigation and a well-proven HUD.

At the compact SUV end, Volvo has stated that they will refresh their XC40 SUV-EV toward the end of 2026 with new tech. If this comes about, we'll likely replace my wife's 400hp 2021 XC40 EV with a 2026 version.

 

[Need4Sleep]

From AI

• Q3 2025 Impact: Tariffs had a 13-point negative impact on the GAAP gross margin for Q3 2025. The company did not specify a single dollar amount for the Q3 tariff hit in the same way it did for Q2.
• Comparison to Q2: The Q3 impact was a reduction from the 21 percentage point hit on the gross margin value experienced in the second quarter of 2025. The Q2 tariff hit was a specific $54 million.
• Full-Year Outlook: Lucid anticipated the full-year 2025 tariff impact to be between 8% and 10% on the gross margin value, a decrease from the earlier range of 8% to 15%, due to efforts in localized sourcing.

Please do not cite AI as a source. It does not understand what is the ground truth of reality and it's only trained to sound convincing, not to be legitimately factual.

 

[Lucken]

I wouldn’t consider the GV60 based on its range and my experience with the horrendous resale value of the G80 I owned. As nice a car as it was, after that experience I vowed never again. When you’ve grown accustomed to the 400 mile range of the Air Pure, it’s also tough to lose over 100 miles of range with another EV. I do like the GV60 styling though.

Similar thoughts on the Macan, it’s a beautiful car, hampered by a meh range. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Lucid’s midsize has to offer.

 

[joec]

I’ll go on the record and say I’ll be shocked if Midsize isn’t shipping in at least the volume of the current Gravity by August 2027.

I know Lucid has faced many delays before. But Gravity is sort of a bad example, because they essentially started over from scratch. It may as well have been their first car, once they made the (correct) decision to not just make an SUV Air.

Midsize has a much smaller bill of materials, which has already been defined. It’ll share most of the same software as Gravity. And the factory has more than enough capacity. Plus, Lucid’s supply chain is in much better shape now than it was a few years ago.

The only real factor is Lucid’s luck, which has been about as bad as it could be thus far. Everything that could have gone wrong with Air and Gravity did go wrong. Will that luck change with Midsize? That’s anyone’s guess.

If their luck improves at all, Midsize will be delivered to its first customers early in 2026.

I’m ready to be wrong. I’m also ready to accept apologies when I’m proven right.

 

[HC_79]

Midsize will be delivered to its first customers early in 2026.

Well you’re wrong so I’m not apologizing

 

[hmp10]

. . . Midsize will be delivered to its first customers early in 2026.

2027?

And do you mean first customers globally or in the U.S., since production is going to start in Saudi Arabia?

 

[merveille07]

Well you’re wrong so I’m not apologizing

He was too excited. He meant 2027 for sure.

 

[sri]

My guess is they will show mid size by end of 2026 if their luck stays same os now .

 

[The_Don]

This is probably me being too optimistic, but I'm confident they'll have real deliveries by the end of 2026 and I think production will be significant by the end of 2027. They've had two different launches, which should provide them with the experience necessary to at least improve their rollout of new vehicles.

 

[joec]

I’ll go on the record and say I’ll be shocked if Midsize isn’t shipping in at least the volume of the current Gravity by August 2027.

I know Lucid has faced many delays before. But Gravity is sort of a bad example, because they essentially started over from scratch. It may as well have been their first car, once they made the (correct) decision to not just make an SUV Air.

Midsize has a much smaller bill of materials, which has already been defined. It’ll share most of the same software as Gravity. And the factory has more than enough capacity. Plus, Lucid’s supply chain is in much better shape now than it was a few years ago.

The only real factor is Lucid’s luck, which has been about as bad as it could be thus far. Everything that could have gone wrong with Air and Gravity did go wrong. Will that luck change with Midsize? That’s anyone’s guess.

If their luck improves at all, Midsize will be delivered to its first customers early in 2026.

I’m ready to be wrong. I’m also ready to accept apologies when I’m proven right.

Oops. Yes, I meant early 2027. Thanks for the quick correction.