Luxury electric car manufacturer Lucid from the United States is exploring the Chinese market and has hired former NIO executive.

According to media reports, Eric Bach, the Chief Engineer of Lucid, a manufacturer of electric vehicles, revealed during the Munich Motor Show in Germany that the company is exploring the possibility of entering the Chinese market, but there is no specific timetable at the moment. Previously, Lucid hired Zhu Jiang, a former executive of NIO, a Chinese electric vehicle company.

Bach pointed out that every car manufacturer must thoroughly study or have already studied the Chinese market. It is the largest automobile market in the world. China will become the largest and fastest-growing market for electric vehicles. This is what Lucid is exploring and investing in.

If Lucid does expand into the Chinese market, it will mean entering the most competitive market globally and competing with various car companies such as BYD, NIO, and Tesla for market share. Bach revealed that Lucid does not have a specific date for entering the Chinese market because they need to be well-prepared. If they enter the Chinese market in the wrong way, they may make many mistakes.

Lucid has a team in China that is exploring the feasibility of entering the market. The core questions of the research include: How to enter? What is the pricing strategy? What is the manufacturing strategy? Bach stated that the company needs to have precise positioning and is considering everything that a young manufacturer like Lucid should do, and they want to do things right.

Bach mentioned that Lucid has expanded the area of its factory in Arizona fourfold. The company is also launching an SUV called Gravity. Therefore, there is pressure on the entire system, and the company needs to assess how much pressure it can withstand.

While considering entering the Chinese market, Lucid is actually facing certain challenges:

• The financial report released last month showed that Lucid's revenue increased in the second quarter, but the net loss expanded. The revenue for the quarter was $150.9 million, lower than the market expectation of $176.6 million; the adjusted EBITDA loss was $710.3 million, higher than the market expectation of $596.1 million; the loss per share was $0.40.
• Lucid delivered 1,404 Air sedans in the second quarter, which was lower than market expectations. However, the company still expects to produce over 10,000 vehicles for the whole year of 2023.
• In March of this year, Lucid also chose to lay off approximately 18% of its workforce due to weak demand.

Currently, Lucid positions itself as a high-end luxury car brand. For example, during this motor show, Lucid showcased a limited edition electric sedan called Air Midnight Dream Edition. This luxury car uses high-end materials and even has seats that can provide back massages.

On the same day, Bach confirmed that the company will launch a mid-size car in 2026.

Lucid is also considering expanding its products to the lower-priced market, namely the mass market. Bach stated that the company will eventually enter the mass market, where the price of cars is around $20,000. However, this will take some time.

In order to achieve economies of scale and achieve these prices, it is necessary to have a very strong and capable supply base that can provide appropriate pricing. Therefore, this is why we start from top to bottom, in order to build trust, win trust, establish networks, establish logistics systems, and then allow mid-sized vehicles to achieve scale, generating revenue for the company and providing funds for investment in the mass market.

Lucid fell more than 3% in midday trading on Thursday, hitting a daily low below $6. Subsequently, following the broader U.S. stock market, the decline narrowed.