Lucid Motors last week started accepting reservations for its Air electric sedan from customers in Europe, with the company also announcing that deliveries in the region will commence in late 2021. That's about a year after deliveries are due to commence in the United States.

Eligible countries include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Customers there will need to front up a $1,000 refundable deposit to reserve a build slot, the same as in the U.S. where reservations opened in 2019.

Lucid Air

Lucid Air

Lucid first revealed a concept for the Air in 2016 and the company is currently gearing up to show us the production version which will be unveiled in New York in April. Production is due to start in late 2020 at a plant currently under construction in Casa Grande, Arizona.

Production was originally due to start in 2018 but the project was delayed by funding problems. Lucid was finally thrown a lifeline in 2019 after the Saudi Arabian government decided to buy a $1 billion stake in the company. Other key investors include Beijing Auto and Tsing Capital.

Lucid Air

Lucid Air

The Air is similar in size to a BMW 5-Series but thanks to clever packaging should have interior space closer to that of a 7-Series. The obvious rivals are the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan but several established automakers will also introduce alternatives in the next 12-24 months. These include a redesigned Jaguar XJ and the new Mercedes-Benz EQS and Audi E-Tron GT. The latter is a relative of the Taycan.

Lucid is likely to have revised specs for the Air since the concept's 2016 reveal. At the reveal, Lucid said an entry-level version of the Air with 400 horsepower would start at just $60,000. A range-topping model was also said to be coming with 1,000 hp.