Aston Martin and Lucid team up for future EVs

Aston Martin has teamed up with Californian EV maker Lucid for its next generation of battery-electric vehicles.

Announced at the London Stock Exchange, the partnership means Lucid EV tech will feature on Aston Martin’s new electric platform set to spawn hypercars, sports cars, grand tourers, and SUVs.

Lucid will supply powertrain components such as high-output electric motors, batteries, Wunderbox charging, and inverters. The first vehicle on the new platform is expected to debut in 2025 after the Valhalla hypercar's 2024 launch.

The agreement is part of Aston Martin’s plan to electrically reinvent itself as part of its sustainable ‘Racing. Green.’ strategy implemented under executive chairman Lawrence Stroll. By 2030, Aston’s goal is to offer an electrified variant of every model.

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“The supply agreement with Lucid is a game changer for the future EV-led growth of Aston Martin.

"Based on our strategy and requirements, we selected Lucid, gaining access to the industry’s highest performance and most innovative technologies for our future BEV products”, said Stroll.

Aston Martin and Lucid’s partnership will be similar to the current deal with Mercedes-AMG which supplies the ‘M177’ 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 for the current Vantage, DB12, and DBX.

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What’s Lucid bringing to the table?

In short, excellent electric goodies with 800-plus kilowatts and four-wheel torque vectoring – and that’ll just be the start. The deal includes both current technology and future advancements, so 1000kW isn’t out of the question.

Lucid offers a barrage of options for the Air, but we’ll talk about the fast one, given Aston’s market standing. Rated at an astounding 895kW, the soon-to-be-released tri-motor Air Sapphire suggests a lot of pace from Aston’s EVs.

Driving range will likely be excellent with Lucid’s 113kWh battery onboard. Although the Sapphire is not yet EPA rated, the ‘lowly’ 783kW Grand Touring Performance is nothing to sniff at with 718km EPA driving range.

Lucid’s ultra-rapid Wunderbox charging technology can add 483km driving range in 20 minutes and will likely feature in Aston Martin’s electric vehicles.

The result will be a selection of new vehicles from Aston, with the first likely to ape the design teaser silhouette (pictured top). It appears to be a grand tourer or sports car, but Aston is yet to provide details.

“The proposed agreement with Lucid forms a significant pillar of our electrification strategy, providing Aston Martin with access to the industry’s leading powertrain and battery systems technology”, said Roberto Fedeli, Aston Martin’s chief technology officer.

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Aston’s other partnerships continue

Aston will continue working with Mercedes-AMG for combustion technology – Stroll referred to AMG and Lucid as “world-class suppliers” – and the long-term Geely partnership will continue, which ought to help with Aston's crucial Chinese market penetration.

An agreement with Brembo to develop high-performance brake-by-wire systems to interface with EV regen braking has been put in place, and Aston will play a crucial role in the development of Pirelli’s Cyber Tyre technology.

Naturally, Aston Martin’s F1 knowledge will be put to work with active aerodynamics to increase efficiency and driving range.