Startup backed by investors from China unveils electric car

Lucid Motors introduces sedan called the Air that will sell for over $100,000

Silicon Valley startup Lucid Motors, which has received backing from Chinese investors, on Wednesday unveiled a production version of its electric sedan - the Air -and said it would start producing it in 2018.

Lucid, which was previously named Atieva, said a well-optioned Air will cost more than $100,000 but that a $65,000 model will be produced in the future. Lucid is aiming to compete with Tesla's Model S, which begins at about $70,000, and also the luxury gas-powered cars like the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

The standard Air comes with a 100 kWh battery, which Tesla currently uses in the Model S, and will offer a 130 kWh option. According to the automaker and its energy partner Samsung SDI, that car has a range of 400 miles per charge.

Based in Menlo Park, Calif., Lucid said it had raised more than $200 million from investors, including Chinese technology and entertainment company LeEco, Tsing Capital of China, Mitsui & Co., Ltd of Japan and Venrock of the US.

Lucid plans to offer its sedan first in the US, followed by China and Europe.

The company expects initially to sell vehicles online and open stores next year. Lucid's sales target is 8,000 to 10,000 vehicles in the first full year of production, and going up to about 50,000 annually within three years, said Peter Rawlinson, Lucid's chief technology officer and a former Tesla vice president of vehicle engineering and chief engineer of the Model S.

In late November, Lucid announced it would build a $700 million factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, and expected to create more than 2,000 jobs by the end of 2022.

Last week, it unveiled a deal with Samsung SDI to supply batteries.