Challenging and breaking world records is nothing new for Lucid Motors. The American Electric vehicle manufacturer has been making electric vehicle components since 2007. In recent years they have come all guns blazing with their all-electric sedan, Lucid Air.
Lucid Air is present in 4 trim levels in 2024, namely:
- Pure (88 kWh)
- Touring (88 and 93 kWh)
- Grand Touring (112 kWh)
- Sapphire (118 kWh)
The Record: 9 Countries in a Single Charge
On 22nd June 2024, Lucid managed to register a new world record under its name. The car was driven by Umit Sabanci and his team. The Guinness World Record on Saturday was for ‘the most countries driven through in an electric vehicle (EV) on a single charge.’
Countries covered were:
- Netherlands
- Belgium
- Luxembourg
- France
- Germany
- Liechtenstein
- Austria
- Switzerland
- Italy
Total distance covered: 913 km (567 miles)
This feat broke the previous record of covering 7 countries in a single charge which was achieved by Frederik Van Overloop (Belgium) in a Tesla Model S. This record has remained unbreakable since 2016.
Story Behind the Record:
Lucid Motors had a good intention behind this record-making run. They wanted to raise funds for the ‘Guy’s Cancer Charity’. They said that they wanted to make a difference in the lives of people fighting cancer. Another thing they wanted to promote was the adoption of green energy through electric vehicles.
Lucid’s history of challenging the records
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- Laguna Seca track record: In 2018 Lucid Air prototype set an EV lap record of 1:41.67.
- Production Electric Vehicle Range record: In 2020 Lucid Air broke Tesla’s record of 686 km range by setting a new record of 832 km in an EPA standard multi-cycle test procedure.
- Production EV World Hypermiling Record: In 2022 Lucid Air became the first production Electric vehicle to cross the 1000 km mark in a single charge. The record set was 1106 km in a single charge.
- Efficiency Record: In June 2024 Lucid added another record to its name. It achieved a staggering figure of 5 miles/ kWh of efficiency which is a new record for a production electric vehicle
GoMechanic’s take on the event
Achieving such a record is a great feat for a car brand. This is a glimpse of the future. Electric vehicles are getting better and better day by day. Lucid is nowhere near the sales figure of Tesla but the efforts the company is putting into research and development. The modern-day EV companies must focus on pushing to the limits if they need to create a sense of acceptance among car buyers. India is a large country and having a range of anxiety for electric vehicles is obvious. The taxes on internal combustion engine cars and extremely high fossil fuel prices, provide an opportunity for EV growth. However, the companies in India are slow to respond to the hype created for electric vehicles. Lucid is a perfect example where sales experience a continuous hike year by year. But this has never stopped them from innovating.
