FEV confirms 830km range for Lucid Air sedan

Lucid Motors has announced an independent range verification of 830km (517 miles) on a single charge for its forthcoming all-electric Lucid Air sedan.

Michigan-based FEV North America, Inc. secured the new benchmark range by applying the EPA’s multicycle test procedure (SAE J1634 Oct 2012 Standard) with the standard adjustment factor.

The results confirm that the Lucid Air is the longest range electric vehicle to date.

“I’m delighted that the Lucid Air has been independently verified by FEV to achieve an estimated EPA range of 830km (517 miles), and that this landmark development has been achieved entirely through in-house technology,” Lucid Motors chief executive officer Peter Rawlinson says.

“I believe that our 900-volt architecture, our battery packs, miniaturised motors and power electronics, integrated transmission systems, aerodynamics, chassis and thermal systems, software, and overall system efficiency has now reached a stage where it collectively sets a new standard and delivers a host of world firsts,” he says.

FEV is an independent, international engineering service provider of vehicle and powertrain development for hardware and software, with service offerings that include range certification.

It’s verification process closely follows the official EPA standard testing procedure and has been executed for several vehicle manufacturers. Lucid conducted thousands of kolimetres of real-world range testing, and FEV’s results validate these endeavours.

“FEV has tested many vehicles across a wide range of consumer and industrial use cases, with electric vehicle development and testing as one of our core competencies,” FEV North America chief technology officer Dean Tomazic says

“We are impressed by the pace of progress in this area, as exemplified by our testing of the Lucid Air.”

The FEV range estimate closely matches Lucid’s computer-modelled range prediction. Lucid achieved this result through proprietary technology along with careful engineering of every aspect of the Air’s performance and efficiency.

Starting with the in-house development of the drivetrain, Lucid miniaturised and integrated the Air’s motors, transmission and inverter, and paired this with an ultra-high, 900+ volt architecture to achieve compactness and efficiency.

In creating the Air’s battery packs, Lucid drew upon 10 years of experience and more than 32 million km (20 million miles) of real-world testing. In addition, the expertise of Lucid’s technology division, Atieva, played a large role, as it supplies battery packs for the entire field of the Formula E racing series since 2018 and continuing through 2022. The result is a battery system for the Lucid Air that provides safety, performance, and energy density in a form sculpted around the occupant cabin. 

“Range and efficiency are widely recognised as the most relevant proof points by which EV technical prowess is measured. A few years ago we revealed our alpha prototypes of the Lucid Air and promised more than 640km (400 miles) of range; a reflection of our technology at that time,” Rawlinson says.

In the intervening period we have achieved a series of technological breakthroughs, culminating in energy efficiency. We have consequently achieved an estimated EPA 830km (517 miles) of range today whilst also reducing our battery pack’s capacity, thereby reducing vehicle weight and cost, and improving interior space,” Rawlinson says. 

The production version of the Lucid Air will debut in an online reveal on September 9, 2020. In addition to the vehicle’s final interior and exterior designs, new details about production specifications, available configurations, and pricing will also be shared.