Lucid Motors is introducing the RangeXchange: an innovative new vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) adapter, available for purchase first for U.S. customers, that will enable Lucid Air owners to directly charge other electric vehicles.
This new capability is enabled by Lucid’s bi-directional charging technology and proprietary software all of which is already built into every Lucid Air.
“I’m delighted that Lucid continues to innovate, enabled by our integrated fusion of software and hardware,” said Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO of Lucid. “RangeXchange is a small step to further enhance the everyday usability of the electric vehicle.”
RangeXchange is Lucid’s first application of the Wunderbox’s bi-directional charging technology. RangeXchange allows energy to flow from the Lucid Air’s battery pack to charge another EV at a rate of up to 9.6 kW. The amount of range this adds depends on the other vehicle’s energy efficiency as well as typical environmental factors. For most EVs currently on the market in the U.S., a charge rate of 9.6 kW will add 24 to 40 miles per hour.
“Designed and engineered in-house by Lucid, the Wunderbox is far more than just a piece of hardware that charges the battery pack,” said Eric Bach, Senior Vice President of Product and Chief Engineer at Lucid. “From giving other EVs a boost with RangeXchange today, to possible future applications like vehicle-to-home backup power, time-of-use (TOU) optimization, and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) power, Lucid’s proprietary bi-directional charging technology has the potential to greatly improve our customers’ lives.”
“RangeXchange is yet another example of the tremendous value we can provide with an over-the-air software update long after a customer purchases our car,” said Mike Bell, Senior Vice President of Digital at Lucid. “This system’s approach to the integration of hardware and software is what allows us to provide these value-add updates and is what sets Lucid apart in the auto industry.”
The RangeXchange feature will first be offered to U.S. owners. It will require separate purchase of a RangeXchange charging cable adapter available exclusively from Lucid later this month and will be enabled by an OTA software update.