Benzinga | Nov 15, 2021 03:50PM EST

Tesla Rival Lucid Group's Debut Vehicle Named MotorTrend Car Of The Year

Lucid Group, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:LCID) Air is making waves within weeks of the commencement of the first deliveries of the luxury sedan.

What Happened: The Lucid Air has won the 2022 MotorTrend Car of the year, the company announced Monday.

The company noted that this is the first instance of a debut product from a new automotive brand winning the prestigious "Golden Calipers."

The luxury sedan emerged the winner from a fray of 24 competitors, including the Daimler AG (OTC:DDAIF)-owned Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Mercedes-Benz EQS, Volkswagen AG (OTC:VWAGY) subsidiary Porsche's Taycan and Honda Motor Co., Ltd.'s (NYSE:HMC) Civic.

"The win affirms Lucid Air as the new EV benchmark, with the most advanced electric powertrain available today--technology wholly designed, developed, and manufactured in-house," Lucid said in a statement.

Six key criteria were used to evaluate the vehicles: efficiency, value, advancement in design, engineering excellence, safety, and performance of the intended function.

Related Link: Why BofA Projects Upside For EV Stocks Tesla, Lucid, Fisker And Nio

Why It's Important: The Lucid Air Dream edition has a 113 kilowatt-hour battery, giving it a 520-mile EPA range, the company had said in September. This compares to the 415-mile for Tesla, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model S.

"With the longest driving range of any electric vehicle on the market, an EPA estimated 520 miles, and over 1,100 horsepower available, the Lucid Air is a technological tour de force," said MotorTrend Group Head of Editorial, Ed Loh.

Due to miniaturization of Lucid's in-house developed EV powertrain and battery pack, the car has a large and luxurious interior cabin within a beautiful, streamlined exterior design along with a relatively compact footprint.

At last check, Lucid shares were up 1.41% at $44.55.

Related Link: EV Week In Review: Tesla'a Musk Walks The Talk, Nio's Forward