Lucid Motors holds ‘ground-building’ ceremony, expects to create 2,000+ jobs

“This is going to rock our world,” said Casa Grande Mayor Craig McFarland. “We are so excited for [Lucid] to be here.”

Electric vehicle company Lucid Motors held a “ground-building” ceremony for its new Casa Grande facility Monday.

The company decided to plant a tree rather than break ground in the traditional way. Lucid Vice President of Manufacturing Peter Hochholdinger said the action represents the company’s dedication to the continuous growth of not only the company but the community as well.

“We are committed to Arizona for a very long run,” Hochholdinger said. “Right here, in just about one year’s time, we will begin the production of the best electric vehicle in the world — the Lucid Air.”

Lucid will build its facility over the next year.

“Our first phase of production…represents over $300 million of capital investment and several hundred jobs,” Hochholdinger said.

“Throughout the course of this year we’ll see this factory going up, and it will go up in a structured, logical way, and I believe very much in baby steps,” Lucid CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson said. “I think that people will see through the course of this construction that Lucid really is the real deal, that we’re here to stay and we’re going to create an amazing product here in Arizona.”

Once built, the new facility is expected to create a capital investment of more than $700 million, adding $32 billion in economic impact for Casa Grande and Pinal County in the next 20 years.

The facility is also expected to create roughly 4,800 direct and indirect jobs by 2029, according to the Arizona governor’s office.

“This is one of the most significant job announcements in recent memory,” Gov. Doug Ducey said at the event. “Lucid Motors looked at over 60 different markets and 13 states, and they chose Arizona. Make no mistake, as Peter said, this investment can transform the economy in Pinal County and Casa Grande for years to come…We can’t wait to see your state-of-the-art, made-in-Arizona vehicles on our roads.”

Lucid will manufacture its Lucid Air electric vehicles at the new facility, starting with 15,000 units through 2021 and increasing to hundreds of thousands by 2026 or 2027.

According to Rawlinson, the Air is a “world-class” product with a 400-mile range, making it the first inter-city electric car.

“This is one small step for us today; it’s a baby step… But if you put all these steps together, you become an irresistible force,” Rawlinson said.

Lucid’s new facility will be in Casa Grande’s industrial area, which currently has a direct and indirect impact of roughly 6,000 jobs and $327 million in personal income, according to McFarland.

“If you add the 2,200 additional jobs from Lucid, that’s a huge impact in this community,” McFarland said. “Hav[ing] that first car roll off in December of next year, 2020. It’s going to be an amazing thing to watch.”

“We want to change the world and make it a better place, and in order to do that we have to think big. And this is the site that enables that vision to become reality,” Rawlinson said.

Also in attendance were Pinal County Board of Supervisors Chairman Mike Goodman and Gov. Claudia Pavlovich of Sonora, Mexico.

To learn more about Lucid, click here.