Lucid has finally launched a more affordable version of its first all-electric SUV. The Lucid Gravity Touring package will start at $79,900. That’s $15,000 less than the current “base” Grand Touring package. The automaker clearly hopes the new entry model will help it boost lagging sales, reports Headlight.News.
Lucid revealed a more affordable iteration of its first SUV, the Gravity. Dubbed the Gravity Touring, it is $15,000 cheaper than the next-level ute.
In what could be a critical moment for the struggling EV manufacturer, Lucid has finally rolled out a new base version of the all-electric Gravity SUV.
The new Lucid Gravity Touring package starts at $79,900, Lucid announced during the annual Los Angeles Auto Show. That’s a $15,000 discount compared to the current entry model, the Gravity Grand Touring which starts at $94,900. The timing could prove critical considering federal EV tax credits expired at the end of September, since then sending sales of battery-electric vehicles into a tailspin.
The Touring model delivers fewer luxury features and lower range. It does retain the SUV’s twin-motor, all-wheel-drive layout, albeit with a bit less performance — only 560 horsepower. That means it will take a full 4 seconds to launch from 0-60, compared to 3.4 seconds for the Grand Touring package.
What’s new
Lucid initially came to market with a $169,000 version of its electric sedan, the Air Dream Edition. It tried to come closer to consumer demand with its first SUV, the Gravity Grand Touring, starting at $94,900. Now, it will have a more affordable entry price while maintaining many of the features that won praise for the electric SUV — one of three finalists for North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. At a starting MSRP of $79,900, it comes in under two competitors: the Rivian R1S and the Cadillac Escalade IQ.
To get a lower price tag, you’ve got to cut back in some areas, including performance, which means 0-to-60 takes 4 seconds instead of 3.4 seconds now.
As one might expect, Lucid has trimmed back some of the features and specs of the Gravity Grand Touring package. Gravity Touring delivers an EPA-estimated range of up to 337 miles per charge from an 89 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, compared to 450 miles for the Grand Touring version with its 123 kWh pack. (The numbers for the Touring cover both 5- and 7-seat packages, though with larger wheels range drops to 301 miles.)
Touring’s twin-motor all-wheel-drive system musters 560 hp and 811 lb-ft of torque, down from an astronomical 828 hp and 909 lb-ft for Grand Touring. Though the less expensive model now requires a full 4 seconds to hit 60, that still puts performance in the sports car category.
Gravity Touring retains many features from the Grand Touring line, including choice of seating configuration, a 34-inch digital display and the optional DreamDrive 2 Pro hands-free driving system.
Why it matters
The Gravity Touring needs to stop a bit sooner than its more expensive sibling with a range of 337 miles compared to 423 miles for the Grand Touring.
It comes along at a critical time for the EV segment, in general. Demand for all-electric models had begin to level off starting in 2004 and was feeling the pinch as the Trump administration began reversing the pro-EV policies of the prior Biden White House. The big hit came with Congress voting to end tax credits of up to $7,500 on September 30. EV sales set a record in the weeks leading up to that deadline but have since plummeted, industry analysts warning demand could be off for some time.
At its lower entry point, “The Lucid Gravity Touring unlocks a new audience for the Lucid brand in the broad and critical SUV segment,” Marc Winterhoff, Lucid’s interim CEO, said in a statement released Thursday.
For its part, Lucid has had high hopes for the Gravity, its second product line. The EV maker was betting it would land closer to the heart of America’s SUV-centric market. But demand is “not where we want it to be,” Winterhoff acknowledged earlier this month after Lucid revealed third-quarter earnings. The company missed its earlier forecasts for vehicle deliveries, revenues and earnings. It reported a net loss of $978.4 million on revenues of $336.6 million. From a glass half-full standpoint, the loss was a bit less than the $992.5 million deficit reported a year earlier, while revenues rose 68% from $200 million.
More Lucid News
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- Lucid Reveals Trail-Ready Gravity Concept
- Lucid’s Model Y Fighter, the Earth, Set to Launch in Late 2026
Upbeat forecast
Changes to the interior are minimal on the Touring edition of the Gravity.
For his part, Winterhoff sounded optimistic during that earnings call. The company has been struggling to overcome “extraordinary headwinds,” but reported October sales were “climbing,” despite the slump in the broader EV market.
He expects that trend to continue through the rest of the fourth quarter, especially as the more affordable Grand Touring model finally comes to market, about a year after it had first been promised.
Lucid has so far managed to hang on with help from the Saudi Arabian government’s big investment fund. It still needs to boost revenues in order to finish development of a next-gen lineup of even more affordable EVs. Expected to be dubbed Lucid Earth, they will target competitors such as Tesla’s best-selling Model Y line.
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