Lucid to follow 2025 UK launch with £40k Tesla rivals

Boss confirms American EV brand will come here and take on Model 3 and Model Y

American EV maker Lucid will launch in the UK within the next two years before expanding its range with an affordable mid-sized model line to rival Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y.

Lucid launched the Air saloon in 2021 and earlier this month revealed its long-awaited SUV sibling, the Gravity, which are both priced from around $80,000 (£64,000) and aimed at the luxury end of the market.

But the next model line to be introduced will take the brand boldly into more mainstream territory, with CEO Peter Rawlinson suggesting to Autocar a starting price of "about $50,000" (£40,000) and laying bare his ambition to drastically increase Lucid's sales volumes.

"We have to go with volume, because that's what we're about," he said, explaining that Lucid had to launch the high-end Air and Gravity first because of the costs involved in setting up a new car company.

Details of what to expect from the next Lucid remain under wraps, but Rawlinson did suggest that it would appear much earlier than has previously been reported.

He said: "I've formally stated mid-late decade, and that has been completely misquoted as the end of the decade - 2030. What I mean is 'not 2025'. It's a few years away, but it's close. It takes three and a half years to do a car, and we've started... and that wasn't yesterday."

Rawlinson - who previously led development of the Tesla Model S while serving as chief engineer at the pioneering EV maker - also revealed to Autocar that the new products are designed to take on his former employer.

He said: "The mid-sized [line] is going to be overtly a Tesla competitor - Model 3, Model Y. This is the first time I've ever said it: we're going to compete in that market high-volume family car.