SOUTHFIELD, Michigan — Silicon Valley-based Lucid Motors officially opened its Detroit-area offices this week with hopes of hiring local talent as it works to increase sales and launch its coming electric Gravity three-row SUV.

“It’s globally acknowledged that Michigan is the U.S. hub of automotive,” said Eric Bach, senior vice president of product and chief engineer at Lucid. “It's all about finding the right fit, the right talent, access to universities that have great automotive talent. … We've got a lot of suppliers here, so we can interact directly with them. So it's a strategic investment.”

Bach, speaking Thursday at the new Lucid Southfield office during an Automotive Press Association event, discussed the startup’s launch and its projected growth, including in Metro Detroit.

The startup’s expansion to the Detroit area comes as the city’s own automakers look outside of the state for tech talent, especially in California.

Lucid has 70 employees working at the Southfield office, which had a soft opening a few months ago, and expects to have 250 employees here in the next three years.

Bach stressed this is not a satellite office. He instead referred to it as a “mini company in Michigan.”

“This is a real hub where we're seeking experience, local talent, capabilities, quick expansion, excellent quality of more of a traditional technology,” Bach told the crowd. “A vehicle still has a lot of traditional excellence built in.”

For example, when it comes to something like door-making, “that’s not something that Silicon Valley is great at,” but Detroit is, Bach said.

The company started production of the Lucid Air electric sedan in 2021. Last month, the automaker said it delivered 2,394 vehicles, up 70.5% year over year. It expects to manufacture about 9,000 vehicles in 2024 at its plant in Arizona. Through August, the company had delivered more cars in 2024 than in all of 2023.

The state in February approved a $6 million grant to support establishing the $10 million engineering and research center in Southfield.

The EV maker is expected to launch the Gravity SUV later this year.

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