- Rawlinson turns into guide as Lucid delivers Gravity, pivots to extra inexpensive EVs
- CTO of Lucid and mother or father Atieva since 2013, led efficiency-and-performance push
- Oversaw Lucid Wind and Gravity, Tesla Fashion S
Peter Rawlinson is not the peak govt at California’s Lucid Motors.
In a press shed, Lucid stated that Rawlinson “has stepped aside from his prior roles,” and can transition to a task as senior technical guide to the chairman of the board at Lucid, pace COO Marc Winterhoff has been made meantime CEO.
Rawlinson was once increased to the position of CEO at Lucid in 2019, however it’s the well-known technical officer (CTO) position that he doubly held that’s been particularly remarkable. Because the engineering genius in the back of a quantity of what has propelled the corporate to its technological preeminence, Rawlinson particularly has established the corporate as in a position to extracting essentially the most miles in line with kwh out of electrical propulsion programs—even as opposed to rival Tesla. As such, Lucid was once the primary automaker to break 500 miles of EPA-rated space with out an absurdly immense battery gather.
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson – Arizona plant commissioning
“Now that we have successfully launched the Lucid Gravity, I have decided it is finally the right time for me to step aside from my roles at Lucid,” stated Rawlinson, within the shed. “I’m extremely happy with the accomplishments the Lucid group have accomplished in combination via my tenure of those while twelve years.”
It has certainly been that lengthy. Rawlinson joined Lucid’s mother or father, Atieva, as well-known era officer in 2013. Rawlinson and design well-known Derek Jenkins first offered to a tiny staff, together with yours really, a concept version of the Air in 2016, when Lucid become the car logo of Atieva.
Lucid nearly didn’t produce it—and may no longer have with out Rawlinson’s perseverance. Ford regarded as purchasing Lucid in 2018, next took a move. After all in April 2019, with the of completion of an preliminary $1 billion funding from the Saudi Arabian Folk Funding Investmrent (PIF), issues were given actual and construction speeded up.
Amid Lucid’s cash-strapped hunger hour, from 2017 smartly into 2019, Rawlinson saved a core engineering group and revisited some of the key tech within the Lucid Wind—what he referred to as the core competence of the corporate. That ended in the breakthroughs just like the 900+ volt tech and Lucid’s personal permanent-magnet motor design it makes use of lately. Within the intervening time Lucid had began offering System E battery packs for all of the racing layout, which added to the corporate’s wisdom bottom.
The corporate has “initiated a search to identify Lucid’s next Chief Executive Officer,” with assistance from an govt seek company, consistent with the shed. “The new CEO will help Lucid execute its strategy and prepare for the next chapter,” it mentioned.
Peter Rawlinson
Rawlinson has held positions at Jaguar and Lotus, amongst alternative firms, however Inexperienced Automotive Stories first got here to understand Rawlinson when he was once Tesla’s well-known engineer for the Fashion S, answerable for its design and manufacturing. Again in 2011, when he was once in that position, Rawlinson advised GCR that he was once specifically proud of the Model S battery pack and the way it have compatibility electrically and automatically inside that trailblazer, which might travel directly to win all forms of awards.
The Lucid CEO has controlled to rent top-tier ability on the automaker, together with Tesla’s former manufacturing chief and alternative peak executives from VW, BMW, and Apple, and stock directly to them in some way Tesla hasn’t. He saved Lucid’s braintrust within the California’s Bay Segment, however it opened its Casa Grande, Arizona, manufacturing facility in 2021.
Lucid midsize SUV teaser
The Lucid Wind has been Inexperienced Automotive Stories’ Best Car To Buy, and even supposing it’s an excessively immense automobile, the Wind Natural stands as America’s most efficient EV. It’s now turning in the Lucid Gravity SUV and hopes to greater than double its automobile manufacturing this date on account of having the type within the combine. And 3 inexpensive EVs, constructed off a unused mid-size platform and with a fair lower-cost Atlas pressure unit spearheaded by means of Rawlinson as key to attending to additional economies of scale, are due inside a pair years.
For now, Rawlinson and that tech preeminence stay Lucid’s power; he’s urged that it could tug years for the contest to meet up with Lucid’s efficiency edge, and we predict he’s proper.
