United States (US) based electric car maker Lucid Motors, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced to open its first international manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia.
Lucid has signed an agreement on Monday with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) and the Economic City at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) for the factory.
This is the company’s first location outside the United States, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia aims to be an important centre in the world of electric cars, within the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 set by the ambitious Saudi Crown Prince, Prince Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Lucid estimates that its plant in Saudi Arabia could generate up to $3.4 billion in value for the company over 15 years.
“Today, we take a major step towards Saudi Arabia’s goal of diversifying its economy by creating a new manufacturing hub to spearhead the future of mobility for the Middle East region,” said Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia.
Speaking of the agreement and the firm’s expectations from it, CEO and CTO, Lucid Group Peter Rawlinson, in a statement, said, “Lucid aspires to be a catalyst for change wherever we go, so it makes perfect sense that we are bringing electric vehicles to one of the world’s biggest oil producing nations.”
“Establishing a global manufacturing footprint is a practical, natural step and enables us to grow our brand, scale our business, and address worldwide and untapped market demand on an entirely new level, while also taking action to address climate change through inspiring sustainable transportation,” he added.
The firm aims to set up operations at KAEC for re-assembly of Lucid Air vehicle “kits” that are pre-manufactured at the company’s U.S. AMP-1 Manufacturing Facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, and, over time, for production of complete vehicles. At its peak, the company expects to manufacture up to 150,000 vehicles per year at the KAEC facility.
The manufacturing facility will bring several thousand high-skilled jobs to Saudi Arabia, creating diverse job opportunities and supporting skills development for the region.
Lucid Motors is one of several American companies seeking to beat the famous Tesla company, which produces multiple electric cars.
