(November 16, 2021) NEWARK, Calif. — MotorTrend has announced that the Lucid Air has won the 2022 MotorTrend Car of the Year, the first instance in which the initial product from a new automotive brand has been awarded the “Golden Calipers.”

MotorTrend’s Car of the Year award is considered the most prestigious in the automotive industry. The win affirms Lucid Air as the new EV benchmark, with the most advanced electric powertrain available today — technology wholly designed, developed, and manufactured in-house.

“Earning this coveted distinction for Lucid Air, our very first car, is a resounding endorsement of our ability to deliver the most advanced electric vehicles in the world,” said Peter Rawlinson, CEO/CTO, Lucid Group.

“Our objective of achieving range through efficiency and technical innovation is crystallized in Lucid Air, and we’re elated that this effort has been recognized by MotorTrend against such formidable competition from well-established automakers.”

MotorTrend judges evaluated six key criteria for Car of the Year, with Lucid Air excelling at each: efficiency, value, advancement in design, engineering excellence, safety, and performance of the intended function. The Lucid Air was evaluated side by side with 24 highly-regarded vehicles, coming out on top against finalists that included the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Mercedes-Benz EQS, Porsche Taycan, Honda Civic, and many more.

“With the longest driving range of any electric vehicle on the market, an EPA estimated 520 miles, and over 1,100 horsepower available, the Lucid Air is a technological tour de force,” said MotorTrend Group Head of Editorial, Ed Loh.

“The sleek futuristic Lucid Air sedan looks like nothing else on the road, while its gorgeous, smartly-packaged interior sets the standard for the next generation of luxury cars. Against our award's criteria, there could be no doubt — the Lucid Air is MotorTrend's 2022 Car of the Year.”
 
Lucid recently started customer deliveries of Lucid Air, an EV with a revolutionary approach to automotive layout and engineering packaging that capitalizes on the miniaturization of Lucid’s in-house developed EV powertrain and battery pack. The result is a large and luxurious interior cabin within a beautiful, streamlined exterior design along with a relatively compact footprint.

The optimization of efficiency is exemplified across the Lucid Air model lineup, which includes the longest-range electric vehicle ever rated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—the Lucid Air Dream Edition Range. Lucid recently announced that with a 118kWh battery pack, it delivers 4.4 miles per kWh when equipped with 19-inch wheels, a mark surpassed only by another version of Lucid Air, the Grand Touring, which features a 112kWh battery pack and achieves 4.6 miles per kWh.

The Dream Edition Performance model offers 1,111 horsepower, and Lucid’s testing indicates a 0-60 mph time of just 2.42 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 9.67 seconds (with the 21-inch wheels and tire package)—while still capable of an EPA-estimated 471 miles of range (with the 19-inch wheel and tire package).

Lucid plans to build 577 copies of the first Airs, a number calculated based on how fast the company can currently crank out an entire car. Of that total, 520 of those will be $169,000 Dream Edition models and the remainder will be the $139,000 Grand Touring model.

The Dream Edition is available in two trims: the 1,111-horsepower Performance model with 471 miles of range and the 933-horsepower Range trim that offers 520 miles of range. The Grand Touring offers an EPA-estimated 516 miles of range. Eventually, Lucid will offer a $95,000 Touring Trim and a $77,400 base-level Pure trim.