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Lucid Motors is redefining electric vehicle (EV) engineering through compact electric motor design, setting new benchmarks for power density, efficiency, and manufacturability. In a recent deep-dive with Munro Live, Lucid’s senior engineers shared exclusive insights into how they’ve achieved one of the world’s most efficient and space-saving EV powertrains.
Engineering Roots: A Culture of Simulation and Innovation
Lucid’s powertrain story starts with a unique engineering culture. Eric Bach, SVP of Product and Chief Engineer, and Emad Dlala, VP of Powertrain, both come from rich backgrounds in automotive development and simulation. Their shared vision—to build a high-performance vehicle from scratch—fueled Lucid’s early innovation efforts.
Their approach began with simulation-first development. Emad, with a background in electromagnetic modeling at Ansys, helped drive the clean-sheet design of Lucid’s in-house electric motors and power electronics, pushing beyond conventional architectures.
Compact Power, Big Results: The World’s Smallest Drive Unit
At the heart of Lucid’s engineering marvel is its ultra-compact drive unit. So compact, in fact, that a 670-horsepower motor can fit into a carry-on suitcase—and has. This single drive unit powers the Lucid Air with industry-leading efficiency, while its twin-motor configuration in the Lucid Sapphire unleashes over 1,200 horsepower with torque-vectoring control.
Lucid didn’t just shrink the motor—they designed every component to minimize volume and weight without sacrificing performance. The unit integrates:
- The rotor and stator with oil microchannel cooling
- A planetary gearset differential inside the rotor shaft
- A high-efficiency, modular inverter with silicon carbide switches
This results in power density that rivals or exceeds any other OEM, while freeing up critical packaging space—allowing for features like a 280-liter front trunk, the largest in its class.
Microchannel Cooling: Efficient Heat Dissipation
High power in a small space brings heat management challenges. Lucid addresses this with a patented oil cooling system embedded in the stator laminations. Using automatic transmission fluid (ATF), oil flows through microchannels directly adjacent to the stator windings—maximizing thermal transfer at the core of heat generation.
This innovative cooling design ensures low resistance and high efficiency under extreme loads. Notably, the motor doesn’t use physical temperature sensors; instead, it relies on real-time software estimation via physics-based thermal modeling. That’s a software-defined efficiency edge.
Continuous Wave Winding: A Manufacturing Breakthrough
Lucid’s motors employ a unique continuous wave winding—a woven copper wire design rarely seen in EVs. Unlike traditional bar-wound (hairpin) stators requiring hundreds of welds, Lucid’s design minimizes joins and material usage while maximizing slot fill and electromagnetic performance.
This manufacturing process is fully automated and scalable. The stator is produced as a single radial insertion of woven copper into the lamination stack, enabling cost-effective mass production and reducing quality variability.
From an engineering standpoint, the benefits are clear:
- Lower resistance and reduced eddy current losses
- Smaller end-turns, reducing parasitic mass
- Greater design flexibility for winding topology
Lucid’s manufacturing-first mindset ensures that design innovations are also manufacturable—critical for EV cost optimization.
Packaging a Differential Inside the Rotor
Lucid’s system integration doesn’t stop at the stator. Engineers cleverly packaged the planetary differential inside the hollow rotor shaft—turning what is typically lost volume into functional, load-bearing space.
This integration eliminates offset drivetrain geometries, shortens the drivetrain, and significantly reduces mass. It also reduces the rotational friction and improves efficiency by operating the differential as a high-speed, low-torque component.
Lucid’s attention to detail extends to lubrication: the shaft includes machined oil channels that support both cooling and lubrication, turning a mechanical part into a multifunctional component. This level of system integration exemplifies lean design.
Modular Inverter System: Cost-Effective Power Scaling
Lucid uses a modular inverter strategy that simplifies performance variation across models. Each inverter module handles 250 kW, and models like the Sapphire combine six modules to reach megawatt-class performance.
By designing identical modules with configurable interconnects, Lucid can scale power levels without redesigning the motor or stator. The stators are identical across trims—only the wire interconnections differ, allowing:
- Simplified supply chains
- Lower tooling and testing costs
- Rapid variant production
With silicon carbide MOSFETs and double-sided cooling plates, the inverters maintain high efficiency even at elevated switching frequencies.
Front-End Innovation Enables Real-World Usability
Lucid’s integrated engineering also shows in the vehicle structure. By miniaturizing the headlamps with micro-lens array technology, they lowered the vehicle’s nose—achieving an ultra-low 0.197 drag coefficient. This change, combined with shallow overhangs and injection-molded organosheet front modules, enabled a record-breaking frunk.
The trunk insert is molded using twin-shot technology—a stiff polypropylene base with a soft thermoplastic elastomer front and rear—allowing it to deform during installation and expand into position, saving 70 liters of otherwise wasted volume.
This kind of “packaging for function” thinking reinforces Lucid’s user-first engineering.
From the Air to Gravity: Scaling Lessons Learned
Lucid’s first vehicle, the Air, was built by a lean 70-person engineering team. While the product was groundbreaking, the launch exposed manufacturing and supply chain bottlenecks. These lessons became assets as Lucid prepared for the Gravity SUV and a future mid-size platform.
With Gravity, Lucid invested in process maturity—improved quality controls, deeper simulation-driven design, and a stronger supplier base. Gravity scales Lucid’s technology to a broader market, offering:
- Three-row seating with 440+ miles of range
- Track and off-road performance
- Better cost control from the outset
The upcoming mid-size platform aims to deliver Lucid’s design and efficiency at even higher volumes, supported by modular, cost-optimized engineering.
Conclusion: System Thinking Powers Lucid’s Edge
Lucid Motors’ compact electric motor design is more than an engineering achievement—it’s a paradigm shift in EV powertrain thinking. By designing motors, inverters, gearsets, and cooling systems as one integrated system, they maximize performance while minimizing size, cost, and complexity.
Lucid’s holistic approach—grounded in simulation, enabled by automation, and proven in production—demonstrates the power of system thinking in modern automotive design.
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