Lucid Motors Range Claims Attacked
Consumer Reports released a study that showed the range of individual EV models based on EPA data, which it then compared to data based on its testing. Among their most significant conclusions was, “The Lucid Air missed its advertised 384-mile range by 40 miles.” The model tested was the Lucid Air Touring. It has a price of just under $90,000.
The news is another problem Lucid faces as it tries to get consumers to move from gas-powered vehicles to EVs. Many potential EV buyers are worried about the range of these vehicles and where to find charging stations when batteries are low.
Lucid has one of the greatest challenges among American EV companies. It may not be able to stay in business based on its current sales. In the most recent quarter, Lucid lost $630 million on $137 million in revenue. It delivered 1,457 vehicles and produced 1,550. For the first nine months of 2023, it lost $2.2 billion on $438 million in revenue.
The CR study showed how inaccurate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) figures can be compared to how vehicles perform when tested. CR measured the range of EV models based on “highway driving conditions.” It tested 22 new EVs. Each started with its battery fully charged. CR then drove them at 70 miles per hour until their batteries ran out of charge. (Exact methodology here).
Some car companies, including Lucid, may dismiss the results. However, CR, started in 1936, is widely regarded as independent and highly expert in car testing. Public and not private interests support it to ensure there are no conflicts of interest with the companies that own the products it tests.
The results for Lucid are all the more damning because several EVs did better than expected in terms of range. Vehicles that did well included the BMW iX xDrive 50, which did better by 46 miles, the BMW i4 M50, which performed 47 miles better than expected, and Ford’s own Mustang Mach-E Premier AWD Extended Range which did 29 miles beyond the EPA’s range.
The Lucid numbers only add to consumer skepticism about how EV companies market their vehicles and how far they go on a single charge.
