Saudi-backed Lucid Motors is aiming to offer a “pure version” of its Air model at around $70,000, the CEO of the electric vehicle company has said.

During a presentation at the Future Investment Initiative Forum in Riyadh, Peter Rawlinson set out the ambitions for his company, which the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund poured $1 billion into in April 2019 - giving it a 67 per cent stake in the firm.

Rawlinson talked up the efficiency of his company’s vehicles, as he flagged up the US’s EPA ratings standard placing six Lucid vehicles as having the largest range for electric motors. 

Turning to costs to customers, he said: “Right now the Dream edition car is $169,000. My dream is to get to a pure version of Lucid Air in the $70,000 price point.”

Rawlinson used much of his speech to delegates to focus on the efficiency battle between his company and rival firm Tesla.

“The future will be defined by a tech race between the companies that adopt and embrace EV technology and that’s why I would believe Tesla’s value today of over $1 trillion is based on its technological prowess,” he said. 

He went on to say that other manufacturers deliver low-efficiency cars as they do not design them in-house, but instead are “just buying a load of motors and battery technology and software off-the-shelf.”

Last month it was announced that Lucid will start producing vehicles in Saudi Arabia by 2024.