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R2 envy? When will Lucid start to hype its mid size?

borski said:
Hyundai and Kia have been killing it. Not all “old” manufacturers are behind the times.
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Maybe surprisingly, Toyota's redesigned bZ EV has been outselling even the Ioniq 5.
 
DeaneG said:

"The event will feature presentations from Lucid's senior leadership team focused on key growth drivers, including the core technology platform supporting its upcoming midsize vehicle program, recent advancements across its software stack, its autonomy strategy, and how these capabilities are expected to translate into sustainable value creation and improved financial performance.

As part of the program, the company will provide analysts and journalists with an early, in-depth preview of its upcoming midsize vehicle program and highlight select software advancements supporting its next generation vehicle architecture. The agenda will also include a live question-and-answer session with management, as well as presentations from select partners and stakeholders. The Investor Day will be webcast beginning at 8:00 a.m. ET.

In-person attendance will be by invitation only. Additional details, including registration information and access to presentation materials, will be available on Lucid's investor relations website at https://ir.lucidmotors.com. A replay will be available for a limited time following the conclusion of the event.

Investor Day Details:

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2026

Time: 8:00 am ET

Webcast: https://ir.lucidmotors.com (live and replay)"
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My personal speculation is that the investor day will be a "soft" launch to start building the hype on midsize. I doubt they'll show the actual physical vehicle in the investor day itself. Though I would not be surprised if they decide to do a dedicated event to publicly reveal midsize in full (or use an auto show as the reveal, like what they've done with Gravity), then continue to ramp up the marketing as they hit the 2026 start-of-production goal.

I hope that with Rivian R2 launching so close, Lucid will be even more aggressive on their marketing so they can strike while the iron is hot.
 
Tim-in-CA said:
Highlander EV was announced today as well. Lucid needs to provide a meaningful update.

pressroom.toyota.com

Elevated Style Meets Modern Power in the Next Generation 2027 Toyota Highlander - Toyota USA Newsroom

OJAI, Calif. (Feb. 10, 2026) — Striking style, everyday versatility, and battery electric efficiency, that’s the all-new 2027 Highlander. With a stunning new look inside and out, and seating for up to seven, the latest Highlander is the all-electric Toyota built to carry the whole crew. It is...
pressroom.toyota.com pressroom.toyota.com
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I am actually more concerned about this than R2. The R2 is still a niche vehicle because it's an inefficient off-roady adventure box with low range and charging speed compared to the BMW for the street. And the Toyota is a legit 3 row vehicle which Kia and Hyundai have had pretty clear air in that space. R2 will likely take more sales from R1 than people think, Rivian only posted an expected 67K production this year, so I expect half their output to be R2 and still a conservative ramp up.
 
Pragmatic said:
My understanding is they plan to build in SA first and import these Saudi built vehicles to the US. This will allow the use of Chinese battery packs (and other components). Building in SA will bypass the high tariffs that would be imposed on those Chinese components if the vehicles were built in the US.
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Yes I think they can then use all the cheap ADAS sensors from China as well.
 
Yes but the batteries are high cost item and getting cells and possibly packs from China will give Lucid a good size cost advantage on the mid-size vehicles.
 
One thing I will say is nearly all of Lucid's midsize competitors have now been released as new, or relatively new, models (Model Y, iX3, R2, Lyriq, EX60, GLC, Q6 Etron, Macan EV, Lexus RZ). Everyone's cards are on the table and if Lucid can offer a compelling product, they will (a) benefit from not having new releases drown out their hype and (b) have the strongest offering for a few years given relatively long product cycles.
 
Given all the midsize competition, R2 seems more at the opposite end of the spectrum.
When you buy R2 it is because you are willing to spend more on a boxy vehicle with higher seating position... and adventure vehicle.
When you buy a Lucid you are spending more in other directions. Maybe the iX3 is more the competitor?

In any case I'm not sure we will see much hype in the US... I suspect Lucid will focus on other parts of the world where the government isn't discouraging EVs while a whole bunch of brands are trying to introduce new models at the same time.
 
While the US Gov has rolled back a lot of policies benefitting EVs, I wouldn't say they are discouraging them by any means. We're now at the point where EVs will have to truly compete with gas vehicles without any incentives, tax credits, etc. Fortunately today's EV products do truly compete (and in many cases, outcompete) and I'd expect American consumers to do what they always do: buy the best product for their needs.
 
If the midsize Lucid turns out to be more a car than a small SUV or crossover, I’d slot in the Audi A6 & S6 e-tron as competition too.
 
illopp00 said:
I am actually more concerned about this than R2. The R2 is still a niche vehicle because it's an inefficient off-roady adventure box with low range and charging speed compared to the BMW for the street. And the Toyota is a legit 3 row vehicle which Kia and Hyundai have had pretty clear air in that space. R2 will likely take more sales from R1 than people think, Rivian only posted an expected 67K production this year, so I expect half their output to be R2 and still a conservative ramp up.
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I believe the Highlander will have only 320mi range, not really any different than the R2 and similarly low efficiency it seems. I’m not worried about Highlander because as much as they may try to uplevel their luxury, they are not really competing with Gravity Touring for customers similar to why EV9 is not really competing with the Gravity. Price and performance.

I think the Gravity is not going to be a super high volume car because of its price. The mid size and its competition will determine the real success of Lucid.
 
XTesla said:
Given all the midsize competition, R2 seems more at the opposite end of the spectrum.
When you buy R2 it is because you are willing to spend more on a boxy vehicle with higher seating position... and adventure vehicle.
When you buy a Lucid you are spending more in other directions. Maybe the iX3 is more the competitor?

In any case I'm not sure we will see much hype in the US... I suspect Lucid will focus on other parts of the world where the government isn't discouraging EVs while a whole bunch of brands are trying to introduce new models at the same time.
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Since midsize is a platform meant to span 3 vehicles, I wouldn't be surprised if we see a variant focused for adventure to take on the R2 directly
 
illopp00 said:
I am actually more concerned about this than R2. The R2 is still a niche vehicle because it's an inefficient off-roady adventure box with low range and charging speed compared to the BMW for the street. And the Toyota is a legit 3 row vehicle which Kia and Hyundai have had pretty clear air in that space. R2 will likely take more sales from R1 than people think, Rivian only posted an expected 67K production this year, so I expect half their output to be R2 and still a conservative ramp up.
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yeah, the 67 k is a real head turner, low in my opinion. I would have expected 80k at least. The Rivian R2 just doen't look " special". They should have made some significant design changes instead of kust copy and paste from R1. But maybe they were more involved in cutting production costs. A compromised vehicle.
 
Spaceship said:
I feel like most manufacturers are revealing early to keep people waiting. The new Scouts are a good example. Introduced last year with a release of 2027.

I don't think its a bad idea to build hype and Lucid could probably use some right now. Every time I tell people I'm thinking of a Gravity, the response is often "have you heard about their software issues?" In the real world, Lucid is known, if at all, as that brand with the software problems. Not a great look at the moment.
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I think the concentration of Lucids to population in Scottsdale may be the highest in the country. I seem to always see at least one Lucid every time I am out. But the biggest reaction I get to the Lucid vehicles is "huh?" or "what's a Lucid". Awareness of software issues is a much smaller cohort.
 
Steveinarizona said:
I think the concentration of Lucids to population in Scottsdale may be the highest in the country. I seem to always see at least one Lucid every time I am out. But the biggest reaction I get to the Lucid vehicles is "huh?" or "what's a Lucid". Awareness of software issues is a much smaller cohort.
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There are 5 Lucid's in my neighborhood alone which is 2nd to Tesla, and yes there is more of a brand awareness issue, but actually most people just assume it's a very premium expensive car that is too much for their needs. My neighborhood is also devoid of 3 row Truck based SUVs, any adventure vehicles like Jeeps, and no pickups or Cybertrucks; there are 2 Rivian's.
 
illopp00 said:
There are 5 Lucid's in my neighborhood alone which is 2nd to Tesla, and yes there is more of a brand awareness issue, but actually most people just assume it's a very premium expensive car that is too much for their needs. My neighborhood is also devoid of 3 row Truck based SUVs, any adventure vehicles like Jeeps, and no pickups or Cybertrucks; there are 2 Rivian's.
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I’m in the Bay Area and I see at least 10-15 Lucids (Air >> Gravity) every day driving around. Gravities are definitely increasing though. I was driving my daughter to school last week, and I was shocked to see in front of me a white stealth gravity and a gray stealth gravity at the same intersection , with me following in my Black stealth! It was really cool to see.
 
gaskiller said:
yeah, the 67 k is a real head turner, low in my opinion. I would have expected 80k at least. The Rivian R2 just doen't look " special". They should have made some significant design changes instead of kust copy and paste from R1. But maybe they were more involved in cutting production costs. A compromised vehicle.
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it's also important to remember that both midsize and R2 will be targeting a wider international market outside of North America, so there's a lot more places where sales could see a huge spike. We could see 2026 as the start of production for both vehicle platforms but remain low to address teething and growing pains, then see 2027 as the year they both really take off
 
gaskiller said:
yeah, the 67 k is a real head turner, low in my opinion. I would have expected 80k at least. The Rivian R2 just doen't look " special". They should have made some significant design changes instead of kust copy and paste from R1. But maybe they were more involved in cutting production costs. A compromised vehicle.
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Not every model has to be some wildly different style from every other. I think Rivian was smart to make what is mostly a smaller, more affordable version of the thing their customers already like.
 
illopp00 said:
The R2 is still a niche vehicle because it's an inefficient off-roady adventure box with low range and charging speed compared to ...
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Well, other than charging speed, you just described the last 25 years of the biggest selling vehicles in the US, so maybe Rivian is on to something...

Only time will tell.
 
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