Lucid Motors' first car, a $169,000 electric sedan, is MotorTrend's Car of the Year

• The 2022 Lucid Air is MotorTrend's Car of the Year.
• It's the first time a carmaker has won the award with their very first model.

The Air sedan, the first model from electric-car startup Lucid Motors, won MotorTrend's coveted Car of the Year award on Monday.

It's a major vote of confidence for one of the most promising up-and-coming challengers to Tesla. It also marks the first time that MotorTrend has given the title to a carmaker's inaugural product.

Lucid, founded in 2007 and run by former Tesla chief engineer Peter Rawlinson, began delivering the Air to customers in late October. It's a luxurious, high-tech sedan with industry-topping range. It's primed to become a formidable rival to the Tesla Model S, provided Lucid can rapidly scale up production and roll out cheaper versions of the Air, including a $77,400 base model.

The debut version of the Air, the $169,000 Dream Edition, impressed MotorTrend's panelists across six criteria: engineering excellence, efficiency, advancement in design, performance of intended function, safety, and value.

"With the longest driving range of any electric vehicle on the market, an EPA-estimated 520 miles, and over 1,100 horsepower available, the Lucid Air is a technological tour de force," MotorTrend Group's head of editorial, Ed Loh, said. "The sleek futuristic Lucid Air sedan looks like nothing else on the road, while its gorgeous, smartly-packaged interior sets the standard for the next generation of luxury cars."

The Air is the third electric vehicle to win Car of the Year. The Model S won in 2012, but that was Tesla's second model after the Roadster sports car. The Chevrolet Bolt EV nabbed the title in 2016.

The Air beat out six other finalists: the 2022 Honda Civic, 2021 Hyundai Elantra, 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS, 2021 Porsche Taycan, and 2022 Toyota GR 86. To qualify, models must be either brand new or significantly updated. Motortrend has separate awards for SUVs and pickup trucks.