New Luxury EV Automobile Startup Lucid Motors May Open Sales and Leasing Office in Pasadena

Lucid Motors, which produces Lucid Air, a new electric vehicle model that the company touts as “the longest range, fastest?charging luxury electric car in the world” and which won the 2022 Motors Trend Car of the Year award, plans to open a vehicle sales and leasing office at 32 W. Colorado Blvd.

Today Pasadena’s Hearing Officer will hear an application for a minor Conditional Use Permit to allow the operation of a Vehicle Services – Sales and Leasing facility for Lucid, at 5:30 p.m.

An application to allow the operation of a ‘Vehicle Services-Sales and Leasing, Limited Land Use’ within an existing tenant space has been filed and will be heard.

The company wants to open an interior showroom displaying a maximum of two vehicles and an area devoted to office space.

“Within the showroom, customers would be able to discuss pricing, place vehicle orders, and experience Lucid Motors’ driving experience through virtual reality technology and/or test drives. No incidental maintenance, repair work or rental services are proposed. In addition, vehicle display will be interior only,” according to a report in the commission agenda.

To facilitate test drives, vehicles would be stored off-site, and staff would bring the test vehicle to the customer at the showroom, and join the customer during the test drive. Test drives would occur during operating hours, the report said.

The showroom’s proposed hours of operation are Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the description added.

To ensure that there will be no impacts as to noise in residential zoning districts, the Planning Department has recommended a condition of approval to require Lucid Motors to provide a test drive route plan to the Zoning Administrator for review and approval prior to Certificate of Occupancy. Test drives shall not occur in residential zoning districts, the report added.

Founded in 2007, Lucid Motors is headquartered in Newark and some observers consider a challenge to leading U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla.

Recently, Lucid Motors’ new EV, the Lucid Air, was named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year for 2022. Produced at Lucid’s new factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, the first models of the new EV were delivered starting in October.

“Lucid Motors is a seller of electric vehicles. The existing tenant space is 3,866 square feet in interior floor area, located on the first floor of the commercial building,” according to a city staff report in the meeting agenda.

The site is located within the CD-1-AD-1 (Central District Specific Plan, Old Pasadena subdistrict, Alcohol Density Overlay) zoning district, according to the Hearing Officer agenda. A subdistrict of this classification is intended to maintain and reinforce the historic character of the area, and to support its long-term viability as a regional retail and entertainment attraction through the development of complementary uses, including medium to high-density housing near light rail stations.

The Zoning Code says a MCUP is required for a Vehicle Services Sales and Leasing, Limited land use within such a zoning district. In the Zoning Code,  a Vehicle Services Sales and Leasing, Limited land use is defined as “the sales and leasing of automobiles, motorcycles, or trucks within an enclosed structure without any incidental maintenance or repair work allowed. Vehicles shall not be displayed or stored outdoors. Accessory part installation as part of the vehicle sale is permitted. This excludes uses that exclusively rent vehicles.”