Lucid Motors has been undertaking a cold weather test program for its upcoming Air EV, which has included running the vehicle’s systems at temperatures down to -40°C using climate chambers.
“That has all different kinds of impacts on the vehicle,” noted Nicolas Minbiole, VP of quality at the company. “Lubricants change viscosity. They change their properties at different temperatures. The batteries react differently at different temperatures. Their ability to provide power, their ability to accept power when you’re charging it. You need to test all of these things to understand what the limitations of the different aspects of the vehicle are and then optimize them.”
According to the company, its vehicle passed the testing with flying colors, including those related to NVH requirements (typically, interior components of a vehicle get noisier as its temperature drops), which it notes is an important consideration for a car targeting the luxury market.
