Luxury EV maker Lucid Motors targets September opening at Natick Mall
NATICK — Electric car manufacturer Lucid Motors is one step closer to opening in the former Sears building at the Natick Mall after receiving a green light from the town’s Planning Board this week.
Lucid, which specializes in luxury electric vehicles, is targeting a September opening at the mall. During a meeting Wednesday, the Planning Board approved the company’s plans for a service center that will serve Greater Boston.
The California-based company also has a studio coming to the Seaport District in Boston, which is projected to open in the second quarter of 2022, according to Lucid’s website.
Founded in 2007, Lucid began delivering the first of its Lucid Air models — which range in price from $77,400 to $139,000 — in October. Lucid touts the vehicles’ “thoughtful craftsmanship,” and its website allows customers to design their own car and choose between differing horsepower and battery ranges, interiors, rims and features.
At a previous Planning Board meeting on Jan. 12, Goulston & Storrs attorney Chris Regnier, who represents the mall, explained that Lucid will occupy much of the vacant first floor in the former Sears, which closed in January 2019. Dave & Buster’s took over part of the second floor in June 2019, followed by Level99 last June.
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The mall already has a precedent for electric vehicle makers: Tesla has operated a showroom there for nearly a decade, later adding a sales department for the location.
However, Natick Town Meeting had to approve a zoning change last fall to pave the way for Lucid, as the district in which the mall is located previously barred retailers from simultaneously selling and repairing vehicles.
Irene Lee, Lucid’s manager of real estate, said the new service center will enable visitors to test drive cars, learn more about the brand and its vehicles, and configure their own Lucid Air in a virtual reality setup.
“Our use is a very different one from the traditional sense of a service center, in that it’s a much cleaner use — we don’t have a lot of the fluids and we provide a much more modern experience for our customers,” Lee said at the Jan. 12 Planning Board meeting.
Per Lucid’s plans, the company will keep no more than four vehicles on site at the mall for sale, test drive or display.
“We’re really thrilled that the town and the community are partners in the adoption of sustainable energy,” Lee said., “We believe that we will be a really great addition to this community.”
Abby Patkin is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. Follow Abby on Twitter @AMPatkin. She can be reached at apatkin@wickedlocal.com.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Natick Mall: Electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors plans service center
