Lucid Motors to Provide Power for Aston Martin’s Upcoming Electric Vehicles
Lucid has revealed that Aston Martin intends to manufacture “ultra-luxury high-performance” electric vehicles using its electric motors, batteries, and other technology. This marks the first time that Lucid has entered into a deal to supply parts to other automakers, following in the footsteps of Rimac, which has previously developed batteries and other components for Aston Martin, Koenigsegg, and other companies. Lucid has recently launched its own electric car, the Air, which is available in various versions starting at approximately $87,400.
“The supply agreement with Lucid is a game-changer for Aston Martin’s future EV-led growth,” said Aston Martin CEO Lawrence Stroll. “Based on our strategy and requirements, we chose Lucid to leverage the industry’s most powerful and innovative technologies for our future BEV products.”
Aston Martin said it selected Lucid through a “competitive process” and uses Lucid’s proprietary electric powertrain technology, including its high-performance dual motor drive unit, battery technology and built-in “Wunderbox” charging unit. The technology enables features such as torque vectoring, heat exchanger technology and a battery system that has been upgraded for more power.
In 2020, Aston Martin abandoned plans to produce an all-electric Rapide E, saying it would not launch an electric car until it was “financially stable”. Stroll, a Canadian billionaire who also owns Aston Martin’s F1 team, took a 25 percent stake in Aston Martin in 2020. Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, currently owns 9.4 percent of Aston Martin and previously said it plans to increase that to 20 . percent by 2023.
As part of that deal, Mercedes-Benz granted Aston Martin access to its hybrid and electric powertrains, but it’s not clear how Lucid and Mercedes will interact. Aston Martin’s F1 team currently uses a Mercedes-Benz power unit, although it plans to switch to Honda in 2026. “We now have two world-class suppliers in addition to Mercedes-Benz [with Lucid] to support our internal development and investment. We are going to execute our electrification strategy,” Stroll said .
Rimac has supplied technology, including a lightweight battery system, to Aston Martin’s 1,160hp Valkyrie hypercar. In 2015, Aston Martin joined forces with LeEco to build an electric version of the Rapide, but LeEco bowed out with its own financial problems. To complete the circle, LeEco originally owned a stake in Lucid, but founder Jia Yueting had to sell it due to a liquidity crisis.
