Lucid Motors CEO welcomes 'Apple Car' competition

Posted:
in General Discussion
Electric vehicle startup Lucid Motors is the latest to chime in on mounting "Apple Car" rumors, with the company's CEO saying he welcomes competition from new industry entrants like Apple.

Lucid


Peter Rawlinson pooh-poohed concerns of Apple muscling its way into the burgeoning EV market on Tuesday, telling CNBC's "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer that there is enough room for multiple new players.

"I welcome the competition from a company like Apple," he said. "Ultimately, you know, this is a technology race. Tesla recognizes that and Lucid recognizes that, and I think that's what differentiates so many of the traditional car companies."

Apple is widely rumored to be searching for a manufacturing partner to build an electric self-driving vehicle of its own design. Recent scuttlebutt pointed to a tie-up with Hyundai after the Korean carmaker said it was discussing a deal that would see Kia develop and produce a branded vehicle. The company quickly walked back those statements following a media firestorm that goosed its stock price.

Kia might still become an Apple partner, though the pair's first product might not necessarily be a car.

Automotive insiders have largely dismissed Apple's potential to create waves in an industry that is notoriously treacherous for newcomers. Rawlinson, however, sees things differently.

"There's always room for new entries, and don't ... underestimate the [car] market, because this isn't a market for EVs. There's no such thing as an EV market," said Rawlinson. "This is a market for cars and EVs will penetrate and completely fill that."

Most recently, a report last week suggested Apple could turn to longtime supplier Foxconn or auto contract manufacturer Magna International for manufacturing duties, as talks with more established firms fell through.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    Lucid? Who?

    Did they get a car out on the road that missed?!
    qwerty52lkruppAbove_The_Godswatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 13
    Lucid is a serious company, they are the only other EV company who have vertically integrated technologies in hand other than Tesla, but have better taste. I would say the real great EVs in the next five to ten years would be Lucid, Tesla, and probably Apple if they can figure out the whole supply chain and manufacturing. 
    dk49byronlwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 13
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    if Lucid says plenty room for new EV entrants and it welcomes Apple is funny. Once upon a time Blackberry said similar. With GM producing over 30 EV models, Ford already started with Mustang Mach-E, Honda announced two SUVs for 2023 model year which means 4th quarter 2022, VW, BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai,Chinese auto manufacturers,etc.so I am targeting 2025/26 my next car an Apple EV.


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 13
    byronlbyronl Posts: 356member
    yup!! i love lucid and i wish them well. there were some rumors of them collabing or apple providing self driving to lucid?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 13
    The two main issues with EVs are the battery cost and the charging infrastructure. It's not really a race for industrial design or self-driving tech. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 13
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    So where can I buy a Lucid EV? Where are their dealerships located? Oh, only in SOCAL I see, all four of them.
    edited March 2021 watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 13
    Lucid is a serious company, they are the only other EV company who have vertically integrated technologies in hand other than Tesla, but have better taste. I would say the real great EVs in the next five to ten years would be Lucid, Tesla, and probably Apple if they can figure out the whole supply chain and manufacturing. 
    It may be serious, but with a $45B market valuation (via a SPAC, that too) for zero cars produced, well, I'll take a rain check.

    Does their "vertical integration" include a charging network that's in place?
    lkruppJWSCwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 13
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    Lucid is a serious company, they are the only other EV company who have vertically integrated technologies in hand other than Tesla, but have better taste. I would say the real great EVs in the next five to ten years would be Lucid, Tesla, and probably Apple if they can figure out the whole supply chain and manufacturing. 
    Does their "vertical integration" include a charging network that's in place?
    Speaking of which -- doesn't it seem ludicrous that all EV charging levels aren't standardized? That would be like if different brands of cars had differently-shaped gas lids and you couldn't use any old gas station. (Since cars last so much longer than phones, this is more relevant than phone charging ports.)

    Seems level 2 is the same, but level 3 varies per brand. This is a fail for the industry.

    https://get-green-now.com/electric-car-plugs-and-chargers/
    kingofsomewherehotwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 13
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    One should always ask why someone would welcome another into an arena, unbidden. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 13
    looplessloopless Posts: 325member
    Lucid will get crushed by VW and the other mainstream auto-makers because the 'old guard' know how to make cars profitably. Even with only just starting, VW already outsells Tesla in many markets with their EV's - not everyone is a Tesla jerk who needs to do 0-60 mph in 4 seconds ( usually with some obnoxious vanity plate)- consumers want quality EV's that are reasonably priced with decent range. Both the ID-3 and ID-4 meet those requirements, and more importantly, VW can make money on them. Tesla ( and by association Lucid) is facing competition from all over - the Koreans at the low end, VW at the 'premium' low end, and then BMW, Audi,Porsche at the high end with much more 'desirable' cars. 
    AI_liastmaywatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 13
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,118member
    StrangeDays said:
    Speaking of which -- doesn't it seem ludicrous that all EV charging levels aren't standardized? That would be like if different brands of cars had differently-shaped gas lids and you couldn't use any old gas station. (Since cars last so much longer than phones, this is more relevant than phone charging ports.)

    Seems level 2 is the same, but level 3 varies per brand. This is a fail for the industry.

    https://get-green-now.com/electric-car-plugs-and-chargers/
    They are (supposed to be) standardized. CCS is based on an SAE recommended standard. That is the standard in many countries and is on most current and future models.

    Older EV models (Nissan Leafs would be the most common in North America) used CHAdeMO, newer models CCS. Tesla uses their own connector in North America, CCS in Europe (and China?).

    Technically, Level 3 is an unused AC based standard. What you're thinking of is more properly referred to as DC fast charging.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 13
    JWSCJWSC Posts: 1,203member
    mknelson said:
    StrangeDays said:
    Speaking of which -- doesn't it seem ludicrous that all EV charging levels aren't standardized? That would be like if different brands of cars had differently-shaped gas lids and you couldn't use any old gas station. (Since cars last so much longer than phones, this is more relevant than phone charging ports.)

    Seems level 2 is the same, but level 3 varies per brand. This is a fail for the industry.

    https://get-green-now.com/electric-car-plugs-and-chargers/
    They are (supposed to be) standardized. CCS is based on an SAE recommended standard. That is the standard in many countries and is on most current and future models.

    Older EV models (Nissan Leafs would be the most common in North America) used CHAdeMO, newer models CCS. Tesla uses their own connector in North America, CCS in Europe (and China?).

    Technically, Level 3 is an unused AC based standard. What you're thinking of is more properly referred to as DC fast charging.
    While standardization for the sake of interoperability is a good long term goal, I would worry that it might happen prematurely and we end up with an inferior standard that the industry is locked into for decades, which happens a lot in many industries.  The EV market is still nascent with a lot of room for rapid innovation in the next few years.  Let’s not cut that innovation off prematurely.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 13
    Lucid is a serious company, they are the only other EV company who have vertically integrated technologies in hand other than Tesla, but have better taste. I would say the real great EVs in the next five to ten years would be Lucid, Tesla, and probably Apple if they can figure out the whole supply chain and manufacturing. 
    Does their "vertical integration" include a charging network that's in place?
    Speaking of which -- doesn't it seem ludicrous that all EV charging levels aren't standardized? That would be like if different brands of cars had differently-shaped gas lids and you couldn't use any old gas station. (Since cars last so much longer than phones, this is more relevant than phone charging ports.)

    Seems level 2 is the same, but level 3 varies per brand. This is a fail for the industry.

    https://get-green-now.com/electric-car-plugs-and-chargers/
    Actually, Tesla had offered precisely such a plan some years ago. But every single automaker rejected the idea outdo-hand. 

    There was a terrific WSJ article on it recently - also how this has already become a huge headache for the non-Tesla EVs on the road. 

    watto_cobra
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