Ask any automaker what the most pressing issues are in constructing a new auto assembly plant, and the short list is certain to include speed.
Plant project managers invariably ask contractors and state officials to do anything and everything possible to help get factories built, equipped, staffed and open for business to capitalize on market opportunities.
But Lucid Motors is taking that urgency to a new level.
On a February afternoon, Peter Hochholdinger, vice president of manufacturing at Lucid — a new player in electric vehicles with hopes of challenging Tesla — watched as construction crews lowered the last steel beam into place at its site in Casa Grande, Ariz. It was one of 4,316 prefabricated pieces that make up the steel skeleton of the plant, which only began construction in December.
"It's great to see it going up so quickly," he said. "Tomorrow, steel is closed out, and we start with the roofing and siding, which will take us into mid-April."
Lucid has embarked on an ambitious plan that strains conventional timelines surrounding assembly plant construction.
Having taken control of a barren patch of Arizona desert in December, the company intends to churn out production vehicles from this factory by the end of this year. Auto plants typically take more than two years to construct — some even longer — after months of site preparation before construction crews arrive.
Right now, Lucid is on pace. Crews have worked on the steel underpinnings for the $700 million facility roughly 12 to 14 hours a day since the groundbreaking, completing an average of 2.5 percent of the steel framing each day.
Following the roofing and siding, the mechanical and electrical installations will begin while equipment is simultaneously brought onto the factory floor. Those operations will take place on nearly a 24/7 schedule.
Once the plant is running, Lucid says, it will employ 700 workers who can make as many as 130,000 vehicles a year with the first phase of construction complete.
Lucid looked to China for inspiration for fast-tracking its plant plans, Hochholdinger said.
"They want to do everything faster, and they do everything faster," he said of Chinese industrial companies. "Why don't we wrap our heads around that and do it where we are? When you find the right partners, you can make that happen."
Lucid's partner on construction at the 495-acre Casa Grande site is the century-old Detroit construction company Walbridge. Also assisting are officials from the State of Arizona and Pinal County, situated between Phoenix and Tucson, who have helped streamline the permitting process, Hochholdinger said. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey was among a group of state officials at the groundbreaking.
"They've been very helpful," Hochholdinger said. "That doesn't mean I can do everything I want to do. But it's, 'Knock on the door, let's talk about it and understand this.' It's not wait three months and then hear, 'I don't know.' "
The factory's footprint is designed with long-term growth in mind. Lucid expects four phases of construction to occur through 2028. The paint shop remains the key through the long-term plans. It is positioned in a way that won't require relocation as volumes grow, even if the footprint will contain some empty space in the short term.
"You don't want to build a second one; that's painful," Hochholdinger said of future paint needs. "So it's like a chess game. We'll move equipment inside and build it out. That possibly means a longer conveyor in the beginning, but we'll fill those gaps with additional ovens and booths and grow within the footprint of the paint shop. That's one reason we're able to move so fast."
Lucid's EV powertrains initially will be built at a facility about 6 miles away. In February, Lucid signed an agreement with battery supplier LG Chem that extends through 2023. But that work will be relocated to the Casa Grande site when the project reaches its third phase.
Lucid, which has been funded in part by a $1 billion investment from The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, expects to be in preproduction by the end of the third quarter of this year. Its first product, the Air, promises to achieve a battery range of more than 400 miles per full charge. A production version of the car is expected to be unveiled at the New York auto show in April.
