Lucid Motors reportedly in talks with Ford for a takeover of the EV startup

Lucid Motors keeps impressing us with its all-electric sedan under development, the Lucid Air, which recently reached a 235 mph (378 km/h) top speed on the track.

But the company’s efforts to bring the vehicle to market seem to be moving slowly. After announcing its EV factory to be built in Arizona back in November 2016, nothing has moved as the company is reportedly trying to raise the $700 million needed to build the plant.

Now they reportedly shifted their strategy to look into the potential sale of the company and they are said to have been holding talks with none other than Ford. 

Bloomberg reported the news yesterday based on inside sources:

“Electric carmaker Lucid Motors Inc. is raising a new round of financing and is also considering an outright sale after holding early-stage takeover talks with Ford Motor Co., according to people familiar with the situation.”

The startup is reportedly the one who approached Ford and not the other way around. The latter could be hesitant to make such a big move as it is just starting to reposition itself with a new CEO.

Electrek’s Take

From an electric vehicle enthusiast standpoint, it would be great news if it actually goes through.

Lucid Motors already developed an impressive vehicle program with the Lucid Air and now it just needs to bring it to market. Ford’s expertise and capital could make the difference here.

As for Ford, the company’s electric vehicle programs have been lagging behind for years. Its first all-electric vehicle built from the ground up to be electric is not expected to arrive until 2020.

In the meantime, the company is using gas-powered cars converted with electric powertrains and it is betting more on hybrids than all-electric. The acquisition of Lucid could jump start a brand new all-electric car program for them.

Furthermore and maybe even more importantly, they could sell their electric vehicles under Lucid’s brand. Selling EVs has been a problem for legacy automakers who are often offering the same vehicles but gas-powered, for example, the Ford Focus EV is over $10,000 more expensive than the gas-powered Ford Focus, and whose dealerships are not well incentivized to sell EVs because they make their profit on service.

What do you think? Would you like to see Lucid Motors being acquired by Ford? let us know in the comment section below.