Benzinga - by Shanthi Rexaline, Benzinga Editor.
Electric vehicle startup Lucid Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID) is navigating through challenging times as it struggles to ramp up production and sell its pricier EVs amid a tough economic climate. Despite the fundamental challenges, Lucid’s electric drive system received the seal of approval from a tear-down expert.
What Happened: Automotive engineer turned tear-down expert Sandy Munro said Lucid’s electric drive system is the only thing I have seen that can beat Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) as far as drive motor is concerned, a video shared by Gruber Motor Company showed.
Does @LucidMotors have a "leg up" on @Tesla when it comes to the powertrain? Hear what Sandy Munro thinks about Lucid's powertrain: @live_munro pic.twitter.com/WBoxtIczaG— Gruber Motor Company (@GruberMotors) September 10, 2023
His comments came as his team took apart the Lucid powertrain, separating the battery, the electric motors, the inverter, the differential, and the gearbox, among other things. The differential is a part of the rear wheel axle, which allows each rear wheel to turn at different speeds.
“It’s smaller, it’s lighter, it’s everything you could possibly imagine that shouldn’t really work,” Munro said. “And it does, and it works brilliantly well, thing goes like a scalded cat,” he added. The automotive engineer also noted the 1,000 horsepower of the motor and said, “it’s ridiculous.”
Why It’s Important: Lucid sells high-end, luxury EVs, and its cheapest car, the Air Pure sedan, is priced at $82,400. The company has found the going tough as the economic uncertainty weighs down on consumer spending on discretionary items such as cars.
The second-quarter results released in early August showed the company missed on all main metrics, including revenue and earnings, as deliveries undershot guidance by 600 vehicles. As Lucid goes through the throes of an upstart, it has managed to keep operations going with the help of its Saudi promoters.
Lucid ended Monday’s session down 4.73% at $5.64, according to Benzinga Pro data. The company that went public taking the SPAC route has seen its share tumble from its post-IPO high of $57.75 in November 2021.
Photo by Jonathan Weiss on Shutterstock
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