- Rawlinson turns into advisor as Lucid delivers Gravity, pivots to extra reasonably priced EVs
- CTO of Lucid and mum or dad Atieva since 2013, led efficiency-and-performance push
- Oversaw Lucid Air and Gravity, Tesla Mannequin S
Peter Rawlinson is now not the highest government at California’s Lucid Motors.
In a press launch, Lucid mentioned that Rawlinson “has stepped other than his prior roles,” and can transition to a job as senior technical advisor to the chairman of the board at Lucid, whereas COO Marc Winterhoff has been made interim CEO.
Rawlinson was elevated to the function of CEO at Lucid in 2019, but it surely’s the chief technical officer (CTO) function that he doubly held that’s been particularly vital. Because the engineering wizard behind numerous what has propelled the corporate to its technological preeminence, Rawlinson particularly has established the corporate as able to extracting essentially the most miles out of electrical propulsion programs—even versus rival Tesla.
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson – Arizona plant commissioning
“Now that we have now efficiently launched the Lucid Gravity, I’ve determined it’s lastly the suitable time for me to step other than my roles at Lucid,” mentioned Rawlinson, within the launch. “I’m extremely pleased with the accomplishments the Lucid crew have achieved collectively by means of my tenure of those previous twelve years.”
It has certainly been that lengthy. Rawlinson joined Lucid’s mum or dad, Atieva, as chief expertise officer in 2013, and Rawlinson and design chief Derek Jenkins first introduced to a small group, together with yours actually, a idea model of the Air in 2016, when Lucid grew to become the automotive model of Atieva.
Lucid virtually didn’t make it—and may not have with out Rawlinson’s perseverance. Ford thought-about shopping for Lucid in 2018, then took a move. Lastly in April 2019, with the completion of an preliminary $1 billion funding from the Saudi Arabian Public Funding Fund, issues bought actual and growth continued.
Amid Lucid’s cash-strapped hunger period, from 2017 effectively into 2019, Rawlinson saved a core engineering crew and revisited a number of the key tech within the Lucid Air—what he referred to as the core competence of the corporate. That led to the breakthroughs just like the 900+ volt tech and Lucid’s personal permanent-magnet motor design it makes use of right this moment. Within the meantime Lucid had began offering Method E battery packs for all the racing sequence, which added to the corporate’s data base.
The corporate has “initiated a search to determine Lucid’s subsequent Chief Govt Officer,” with assist from an government search agency, in accordance with the discharge. “The brand new CEO will assist Lucid execute its technique and put together for the subsequent chapter,” it said.
Peter Rawlinson
Rawlinson has held positions at Jaguar and Lotus, amongst different corporations, however Inexperienced Automobile Stories first got here to know Rawlinson when he was Tesla’s chief engineer for the Mannequin S, accountable for its design and manufacturing. Again in 2011, when he was in that function, Rawlinson advised GCR that he was notably pleased with the Mannequin S battery pack and the way it match electrically and mechanically inside that trailblazer, which might go on to win all kinds of awards.
The Lucid CEO has managed to rent top-tier expertise on the automaker, together with Tesla’s former manufacturing chief and different high executives from VW, BMW, and Apple, and maintain on to them in a means Tesla hasn’t. He saved Lucid’s braintrust within the California’s Bay Space, but it surely opened its Casa Grande, Arizona, manufacturing facility in 2021.
Lucid midsize SUV teaser
The Lucid Air has been Inexperienced Automobile Stories’ Greatest Automobile To Purchase, and though it’s a really giant automotive, the Air Pure stands as America’s best EV. It’s now delivering the Lucid Gravity SUV and hopes to greater than double its automobile manufacturing this 12 months because of having the mannequin within the combine. And three reasonably priced EVs, constructed off a brand new mid-size platform and with a good lower-cost Atlas drive unit, are due inside a pair years.
For now, Rawlinson and that tech preeminence stay Lucid’s power; he’s steered that it’s going to take years for the competitors to meet up with Lucid’s effectivity edge, and we predict he’s proper.
