- The Lucid Cosmos will blow past the Tesla Model Y and Rivian R2 in terms of driving range.
- It may be closer to models like the BMW iX3 and the Volvo EX60.
- Both the Air and the Gravity deliver well over 400 miles of range on a single charge.
When the $50,000 Lucid Cosmos arrives in the U.S. next year, it will be one of America’s longest-range electric vehicles. While we already know a lot about the Cosmos’ underpinnings, its driving range has remained a mystery. But CEO Silvio Napoli recently spilled the beans on that front during a TV interview.
Appearing on CNN’s Quest Means Business, Napoli outlined the company’s second quarter earnings performance, and also gave us an unexpected detail about the Cosmos’ range. “On a charge, we are 400 miles plus,” he told the anchor when asked about the upcoming midsize EV’s range on a single charge.
InsideEVs reached out to Lucid for a comment but didn’t hear back at the time of writing.
If Lucid actually manages to deliver more than 400 miles of range in the Cosmos, the company would raise the bar for the entire segment. None of its direct competitors, such as the Tesla Model Y or Rivian R2, offer that kind of range. The Model Y Premium rear-wheel drive tops out at 357 miles of EPA-rated range, while the Rivian R2 Performance is rated at 330 miles.
However, 400 miles of range would also be consistent with Lucid’s current lineup and put the Cosmos on par with more premium offerings like the BMW iX3 and Volvo EX60. All trims of the Lucid Air are rated for over 400 miles of range (though the Pure drops below if you pick the 20-inch wheels), with the Grand Touring currently the longest-range EV in the U.S. at 512 miles of EPA-rated range. The Gravity Grand Touring, meanwhile, has up to 450 miles of EPA range.
When I saw the Cosmos at Lucid’s Investor Day earlier this year, engineers said the midsize platform was capable of delivering more than 300 miles of range with just a 69 kilowatt-hour battery pack. Most electric SUVs today in the U.S. need larger packs to deliver that kind of range. The Hyundai Ioniq 5, for example, uses an 84 kWh pack to deliver up to 318 miles of range.
Photo by: Lucid Motors
Based on Lucid’s 4.5 miles per kWh efficiency target for the Cosmos, a 400+ mile version could plausibly use a battery pack in the 90 kWh range. But that’s only an estimate. There are countless other variables at play, including the EPA’s test cycle, usable versus gross battery capacity, software buffers, and wheel and tire configurations.
The Cosmos will also have a bunch of tricks up its sleeve to squeeze as much range as possible from its battery pack. For starters, it will be extremely slippery, with a 0.22 coefficient of drag. The midsize platform itself will also pack a host of efficiency improvements over the platform underpinning the Air and Gravity.
The Cosmos will be powered by Lucid’s next-generation Atlas drive unit, which will have 30% fewer parts and be 23% lighter than the Zeus motors in the Gravity. Lucid also says the Atlas will be 40% more power dense and 10% more efficient than the drive units in the Model Y.
All said, it’s worth noting that the Cosmos’ launch has been delayed to early next year as the company works on a turnaround plan after burning more than $1 billion in the second quarter. Napoli said Lucid won’t rush the Cosmos’ launch and will only bring it to market once the company hits every process and quality target.
Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com
