The United States has been obsessed with low car prices lately, although it can be argued that American automakers don’t actually know what “low car prices” means.
The latest carmaker to chase this quasi-cheap status is Lucid Motors, a luxury electric vehicle brand that has models worth up to $250,000 in the current lineup. In 2026, Lucid is looking to add a mid-size model to its fleet that will be about $50,000 — no less!
With an estimated price of $50,000, Lucid’s first mid-size electric car will battle it out with the Tesla Model Y, Mercedes-Benz GLC, BMW iX3, Volvo EX60 and upcoming Rivian R2. It’s the toughest segment out there, but Lucid’s head honcho is confident that the company–and the car–has what it takes to succeed.
The price tag targeted by the company’s first mid-size model “is exactly the average of the U.S. car market, not only EVs, but also the internal combustion engines,” Winterhoff added. “So yes, we are targeting a much bigger market.”
The new mid-size platform will add three models to Lucid’s lineup over time. The first one is likely a crossover, with production kicking off later this year. The second model will come in 2028 and the third will be 18 months after that, according to an interview with InsideEVs. The crossover will be produced in Lucid’s Saudi Arabian factory in hopes of exporting it to Europe and Asia, and its American factory for domestic sales as well.
America is falling behind in the EV price wars
The issue with Lucid’s $50,000 mid-size crossover is that it’s not actually cheap. Lucid is correct that America’s average price for a new car has skyrocketed past $50,000, but that’s actually a problem that many manufacturers are attempting to solve after seeing China’s cheap EVs spread to the rest of the world.
Ford is one of the most prominent American manufacturers that’s been making a big to-do about making vehicles that don’t go past $40,000. It has promised five EVs in this price range, including the much-buzzed-about $30,000 EV pickup truck. However, that truck won’t be here until 2027. Meanwhile, we already are seeing $18,000 EV pickups from China that are heading to Europe, Asia, and now Canada.
You can claim that Americans don’t want this cheapo pickup all you want, but U.S. leaders are already acting quite salty and defensive about Canada’s decision to let in China’s EVs. While $50,000 is a big price drop for Lucid, we can’t ignore that other countries are already quite ahead when it comes to cost-effective vehicles for the middle class (and below).
As much as American carmakers want us to.
