Photo credit: Lucid Motors

In preparation for its planned launch of a production vehicle in September, electric car upstart Lucid Motors has said it’ll set up 20 retail locations and service centers across North America by the end of next year. The first of such centers will be located in prominent places including the Silicon Valley area, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, West Palm Beach, and the DC Metro. Just like electric car kingpin Tesla, Lucid has opted to sell its vehicles directly to customers rather than go through car dealerships. The company’s first vehicle, the Lucid Air, is scheduled for a debut on the 9th of September. It’ll be mass-produced at a massive factory in the US state of Arizona that Lucid began constructing late last year.

Lucid Motors was founded way back in 2007 but ran into operational and financial hassles along the way. A $1 billion investment from the Saudi Government in 2018, however, set the company on an upward trajectory that’s currently heading towards the mass production of its first vehicle. Lucid Motors has hired more than 1,000 employees so far and aims to ship a car by the end of this year. The Lucid Air will have a range of up to 400 miles on a full charge and will be capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 miles-per-hour (mph) in under 2.5 seconds, according to Lucid. Other specifics including pricing have not been announced.