► We speak to Lucid’s Europe boss about UK launch
► No date yet, but expansion likely with new mid-size SUVs
► Lucid Cosmo and Earth both due late 2026
Lucid has confirmed that it still plans to launch its electric cars in the UK, but it’s waiting for new ‘medium-size’ models before it expands into right-hand-drive markets.
The American EV brand launched its first car, the highly-impressive Air saloon (pictured below) in 2021 in its home market, and expanded in late 2022 into Europe. Until now, however, the firm has only sold its cars in four European countries: Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Norway.
Lawrence Hamilton, president of Lucid Europe, says the firm has so far only ‘dipped its toe in the water’ in the region, but it has bigger plans. By 2026 it hopes to be present in 11 European countries, including France and Sweden, before growing to 18 by ‘2027+’, which will include the UK.
‘We are looking at the UK as a really strong opportunity,’ says Hamilton. ‘But it will need the right product, and the right product is the mid-size platform. That’s our primary focus for the UK and other right-hand-drive markets. Mid-size is really where we see the UK market entry.’
What Lucid describes as mid-size are a pair of new smaller SUVs, called the Earth and Cosmo. The Earth will be a more conventional premium SUV to rival the Tesla Model Y, with the Cosmo set to be a more rugged and adventure-ready EV. Both are expected to enter production at the end of 2026, with a reveal planned for a similar time. A third mid-size, believed to be a saloon, will follow later.
Hamilton added that he ‘definitely’ wanted Lucid to sell in the UK, citing it as the second largest car market in Europe and its high electric car adoption rates, though he wouldn’t yet reveal a launch date.
‘We’re already engaging with potential distributions routes and channels and we’re relatively open to finding the right model for the right market. But it’s super competitive, so it’s very important that when we go to the UK, we get it right first time.’
Following the Lucid Air, the American EV brand, which is majority owned by the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund, is now just launching its Lucid Gravity (pictured below) into Europe. Hamilton wouldn’t completely rule out a UK launch, but given it’s another large and expensive model that will remain niche, the business case to make it RHD looks unlikely.
Lucid believes the advantage its mid-size models will have over the competition are its electrical efficiency and lower operating costs, with Hamilton saying he was confident its models would have ‘among the lowest cost of ownership in the industry’.
Its new medium-size models will also be the first produced at its factory in Saudi Arabia. Currently the factory, which aims to establish the country as an automotive producer, is only used for the final assembly of the Air and Gravity, but its medium-size models will start and finish production at the site, close to Jeddah. European Lucids will be made in Saudi, while US models will continue to be manufactured in Casa Grande, Arizona.
Hamilton says that Europe is the ‘primary market’ for its new medium-size models.
‘In theory, on paper, the European opportunity is bigger than the US one, so now we’re building our distribution in the region.
‘We want to get it right first time because there’s no point launching in a market and then having to withdraw, and we’ve seen lots of other OEMs that have joined the European Union recently that have changed their business model and approach multiple times. And the market doesn’t like that, customers don’t like that, residual values don’t, and neither do the banks.’
Hamilton joined Lucid in December 2024 after being managing director of Genesis Motor Europe, so he’s no stranger to niche luxurious and premium brands.
But what’s going to set Lucid apart? ‘At Lucid we believe strongly that product is king and the old rules of the jungle apply, which is if you make the best car and the foundation pieces of the distribution are there, then you will start carving out a role for yourself in the market.’
While Lucid has a big task on its hands to its hands to expand in Europe – in 2025 it sold fewer than 350 cars in the region – Hamilton says the brand’s exclusivity will remain a ‘key selling point’.
‘Familiarity breeds contempt and then people want to move on and try something different. Our volume ambition will not get us to that point, we always want to retain a degree of exclusivity. It’s not like we want to be in the market for Ford Focuses or Corsas, and that’s how you stay luxury and premium.’
