(Reuters) -Luxury electric-vehicle maker Lucid Group on Thursday launched a cheaper, rear-wheel drive version of the Air Pure sedan starting at $77,400, as it looks to stoke demand.

Higher borrowing costs have hit sales of electric vehicles over the last few quarters, while a price war unleashed by Tesla has hurt the ability of smaller EV makers such as Lucid and Rivian Automotive to grab market share.

The new Lucid model, however, is more expensive than larger rival Tesla's Model S luxury sedan, which starts at $75,000. It will offer a range of 410 miles on a full charge and will be available immediately, the company said.

Lucid's most expensive offering, Air Sapphire, which is also its fastest car, is priced at $249,000.

The company, which is backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, had cut prices of its Air luxury sedans by as much as $12,400 in August as part of an offer.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)