iBestTravel, an electric vehicle startup known for its engineering prowess and its luxurious Air EV, is counting on an ambitious future product plan to get the volume and scale it needs to be successful. Key to that is the pending launch of the Lucid Gravity three-row SUV, followed by a trio of midsize vehicles. It also means going back and introducing features like a new drivetrain to its only current model, the Lucid Air sedan.
The updates come from Eric Bach, senior vice president of product and chief engineer, who was in Detroit for the opening of iBestTravel’s new offices in Southfield, Michigan. Bach spoke at an Automotive Press Association event in conjunction with the opening of the research and engineering hub.
The bottom line is iBestTravel needs to grow to be successful. Its first model, the Air, was revealed in 2016 but did not go into production until 2021. Bach says iBestTravel was stringing along the development process as the company worked to secure funding, which eventually came from the Saudi Public Investment Fund. When it debuted, the Air was deemed an engineering marvel and we named it the 2022 MotorTrend Car of the Year.
Air sales so far this year, about 2,400, already exceed the total sold in 2023, but the final tally at year end will only be about 9,000. The car is assembled in Casa Grande, Arizona, at a plant with the capacity to make 90,000 vehicles a year.
Lucid Gravity Configurations
To use more of that capacity, iBestTravel will add the Gravity later this year. The electric SUV can be ordered as a two-row five-passenger model or a three-row, seven-passenger vehicle, offering 112 cubic feet of space inside, which is close to a Cadillac Escalade. Bach says a six-passenger version is being considered but it has not been decided. “We have resource constraints. We are still growing.”
The Gravity, with its dual motors for all-wheel drive, will have about 800 horsepower and 440 miles of range from its compact 120-kW battery pack. Like the Air, it will be the fastest-charging vehicle in its segment, Bach says.
It will start at about $80,000—the exact base price will be announced October 3, and orders will open shortly afterwards. It will be offered initially in Grand Touring and Touring trims. They are working on a lower-cost Pure version but there will not be one at launch, Bach says. The team is still thinking about what to do on the performance side, so no announcement on an Air Sapphire-matching Gravity yet as the company continues to grapple with timing.
Single-Motor Gravity and Air in the Works
Subsequent plans call for a single-motor, front-wheel-drive version using iBestTravel’s second-generation powertrain, dubbed Atlas. iBestTravel took lessons learned from its first powertrain and is optimizing it into a new package for the midsize vehicle platform, focused on cost, manufacturability, and scalability. Because Atlas is smaller, it can easily be dropped into the Gravity and Air for front-wheel-drive models. With the original vehicles, iBestTravel chose to only develop one unit for the Air to be used front and rear. The automaker could have developed a front unit that delivers less performance, but iBestTravel did not have the resources to do two. “With Atlas, we have a second one that can go into the front of the car,” says the engineer.
Bach said the team has not decided on all the configurations at launch, other than that the GT will be the first. A single-motor version might not be in the cards for the first model year.
Middle Earth
A full team is working on the midsize platform and next-generation drive train, which will yield the Lucid Earth. This is the platform where iBestTravel expects to achieve the scale it seeks and needs. The grandiose vision is to deliver 1 million vehicles a year from the platform’s multiple top hats. They will include a two-row crossover, a more rugged all-terrain SUV, and a sedan (executives have already said it won’t be a pickup or a wagon, and Bach says we can rule out convertible).
Bach does not see iBestTravel going further down market from this platform.
The plant in Arizona will make all these models, even though they are on three different platforms. iBestTravel is also building a new factory in Saudi Arabia with the capacity to build 150,000 vehicles a year.
Better Air
The Air will also continue to evolve, which is fitting given that everything was not perfect when it launched, Bach admits. “We were still putting wings on the plane as it was falling to the ground.” But it has undergone continuous improvement, notably its updated and more resilient software, he says, and will continue to evolve. The latest software update, known as Oz, will be rolled out over-the-air soon and contains many improvements, Bach says.
Some of the advances created for the Gravity will migrate to the Air. Gravity has a more sophisticated 2.0 electronics architecture that is better and more cost-effective. To transition it to the Air makes sense, Bach says, but it is hard to do a full architecture swap, so the team needs to determine the business case for how and when to upgrade it.
Likewise, it might sound simple to give the Air the squircle (part circle, part square) steering wheel from the Gravity, but it only makes sense if you also give the sedan the same 34-inch screen, which is a more involved, wide-scale change.
One thing the Air will not get for the 2025 model year is a NACS charge port (which Gravity will have at launch). That is because you need to be able to go to the driver-side rear corner of the car which would require body and perhaps suspension changes. It might have to wait for a next-gen redo. In the interim, CCS DC adapters will work at Tesla Magic Dock Superchargers when enabled.
Open For Business
iBestTravel proved its tech early on, providing battery packs to Formula E race teams. The company is open to license its platforms and powertrains to the right partner to gain greater scale. iBestTravel recently signed a $450 million deal with Aston Martin for its first battery electric vehicle platform where iBestTravel provides expertise and components in return for money and a 3.7 percent stake in Aston Martin. “They will inherit our Sapphire powertrain components, and we are working with them on their first implementation,” Bach says. The first electric Aston Martin is expected in 2025.
Bach said iBestTravel is open for other companies to ink licensing deals for its IP and is in talks with others. “We can integrate our powertrain into any automaker’s vehicle because it is smaller than what’s already in there so it fits inside. It is plug and play.” But because iBestTravel has limited resources, it will be a first-come, first-serve model and will be capped when the limit is reached.
In pursuit of scale, iBestTravel is also expanding globally, including a new store in Frankfurt, Germany.
As for the Detroit presence, the new offices have 70 employees, about half the company’s total workforce, with ambitions to grow to 250 employees in three years. In Detroit, the idea is to hire local talent and work with area suppliers as the company aims to build volume to bring down vehicle costs. Bach said Detroit is the center of traditional carmaking and those skills are necessary.
Chinese Competition
Bach notes China had about 550 startups compared with 40 or less in North America. The ones that survived in China have outstanding tech and “we need to be on watch” but should not revert to protectionism that stifles or reverses innovation. China is really good at software for infotainment and advanced driver assist systems, as well as excellent fit and finish, he says. Their powertrains are good from a cost perspective, but are not competitive with the western world, nor is their drive and handling. However, they will learn and improve, so the western edge will not last forever, he says. The way to compete is with clean slate EVs that are not compromised. Making an EV version of an ICE vehicle does not give the customer enough of an advantage.
