Lucid is proud to have built the first dedicated EV manufacturing plant in the US. Called AMP-1 – Advanced Manufacturing Plant – it was designed from the ground up to make electric cars. However, Lucid will have two plants right from the start: AMP-1 and LPM-1, or Lucid Powertrain Manufacturing plant. Do not confuse it with LMP1.

The latter means Le Mans Prototype 1, a category in the famous race. The former will help Lucid deliver its integrated drive units, battery packs, and Wunderbox Chargers as fast as possible to AMP-1. Lucid said it is just “a few miles away” from Lucid’s main plant. We tried to find it on Google Maps, but Google still has not updated its satellite images of the area.

  

Why hasn’t Lucid decided to build drive units and battery packs right at AMP-1? That plant is dedicated to “body shell manufacture, painting of body shells, and general assembly.” Our best guess is that it has to do with Lucid’s plans to be a technology supplier.

By producing battery packs and drive units in a separate plant, Lucid treats production in the same way legacy automakers do. They normally have powertrain plants and car assembly units that receive the engines they will need as if they came from any supplier.

Lucid Investor Deck Holds A Treasure In Terms Of Information About The Company

Adopting the same strategy, Lucid can expand LPM-1 as an independent plant, scaling production up not only to AMP-1 but also to other car companies or businesses that need battery packs, drive units, or other products that can come out of LPM-1.

Lucid also revealed in its Investor Deck that AMP-1 has just completed its first construction phase. Check the image above to realize how big this plant will be: today, it is just a small fraction of what it is intended to be, able to deliver 34,000 cars per year.

Lucid Investor Deck Holds A Treasure In Terms Of Information About The Company

There are three more phases on the way, and the second one has already started. The slide brings no dates for them to complete, only the perspective that AMP-1 will deliver 365,000 vehicles per year when it reaches its full potential.

Lucid Investor Deck Holds A Treasure In Terms Of Information About The Company

According to Lucid, Casa Grande was “meticulously selected” for its proximity with Lucid’s headquarters and to the automotive supplier base located in Mexico. Being close to an “ample local labor pool” and an “existing talent pool” were also key factors for Casa Grande to be Lucid’s manufacturing home.

Lucid also mentions that the Arizona city has a fantastic infrastructure in what relates to power, water, roads, and trains. Texas's recent situation shows how important it is to make sure there will be no shortages that can cut production all of a sudden.

Having roads and railways close to the factory also allows Air units – for now – to flow wherever these cars have to be shipped to, especially abroad. The railway can connect AMP-1 to any of the ports Arizona lacks due to not having access to the Pacific.

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