Lucid commissions expansion of its Advanced Manufacturing Plant in the US
Lucid started the expansion of around three million square feet (279,000 square metres) in autumn 2021, primarily for the start of production of its second model, planned for the end of 2024. Lucid presented the electric SUV in November 2023. The carmaker also set up a new warehouse.
The expansion will increase the Arizona plant’s production capacity from 34,000 vehicles to 90,000 units annually. That alone shows that Lucid expects higher sales for the Gravity than the Air electric saloon. However, the company will have to work hard even to come close to utilising the new production capacity: In 2023, Lucid only built around 8,400 electric cars, well below its maximum production capacity.
The plant, officially named the Advanced Manufacturing Plant (AMP-1), now features a new general assembly line, new quality centres, expanded body and paint shop facilities, increased logistics and an expanded powertrain production facility, where Lucid manufactures its electric drives. The carmaker also built new semi-knock-down (SKD) facilities.
The latter facilities are essential for another of the company’s projects. The US manufacturer opened its second production facility in Saudi Arabia in September. It is yet to be a full production facility but an SKD assembly centre. That means the cars built in Casa Grande are partially dismantled after production (semi-knocked-down), shipped in their components and reassembled on-site. The annual capacity of the SKD assembly centre in King Abdullah Economic City is initially 5,000 vehicles. From the middle of this decade, Lucid plans to manufacture all of its electric vehicles at the plant in Saudi Arabia and increase capacity to 155,000 vehicles per year.
“The expansion of our manufacturing footprint in Arizona is a significant milestone for the company, as we prepare for the next phase of Lucid’s growth,” said Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO at Lucid. “Our expanded state-of-the-art factory will allow us to continue to deliver our great cars to our customers around the world, including the Lucid Gravity in the near future. We are proud to call Casa Grande home, to continue in our role pioneering advanced technology in Arizona, and to be an American electric vehicle company.”
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