Lucid Group, which produce the Lucid Air electric vehicle (EV) which currently has the longest range and is the fastest charging electric car on the market, have announced they will open a factory in Saudi Arabia.
The agreements arranged with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund and the Economic City at King Abdullah Economic City are expected to accelerate Saudi Arabia’s strategic goal to transform and diversify its economy through the development of sustainable energy and transportation.
The new international manufacturing plant, which is expected to start producing Lucid electric vehicles in 2025, will target 150,000 vehicles per year at the King Abdullah Economic City. Construction of the plant is expected to start in the first half of 2022.
The plant will use US engineering, R&D and manufacturing expertise in assembling new models for global markets and complement Lucid’s flagship manufacturing site in Arizona, USA.
The new manufacturing facility looks set to bring several thousand high-skilled jobs to Saudi Arabia, creating diverse job opportunities and supporting skills development for the region.
Lucid estimates that the location of Lucid’s first international manufacturing plant in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia may result in up to $3.4 billion of value to Lucid over 15 years and the facility will enable Lucid to address the growing demand for Lucid’s products.
Peter Rawlinson, Lucid Group CEO and CTO, 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.
“Our strong relationships with the Public Investment Fund and our partners at MISA, KAEC, and SIDF also give us unique insight into the demand for luxury cars and SUVs in Saudi Arabia and beyond, and we are thrilled to introduce the world’s most advanced electric vehicles to more global markets.”
The new manufacturing hub will be fully owned by Lucid and enable the company to meet the growing international demand for luxury electric vehicles. Lucid also expects to benefit from the availability of competitively-priced commodities and energy and a newly emerging domestic supply chain and a factory location that facilitates global logistics.
Lucid plans to establish operations at KAEC for re-assembly of Lucid Air vehicle “kits” that are pre-manufactured at the company’s US AMP-1 manufacturing facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, and, over time, for production of complete vehicles.
The company expects that its production capacity in Arizona and Saudi Arabia will exceed 500,000 vehicles per year in aggregate when each facility reaches its target capacity.
The project should also enable opportunities for Saudi Arabia to diversify and transition from fossil fuels to sustainable energy and transportation. Lucid expects to employ several thousand people at its KAEC facility once full production capacity is established, the majority of which are expected to be Saudi Arabian citizens.
His Excellency Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia, said: “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.
“Attracting a global leader in electric vehicles such as Lucid to open its first international manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia reflects our commitment to creating long-term economic value in a sustainable, enduring, and globally integrated way.
“This project demonstrates the confidence investors have in Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness, its ability to create opportunity and serve global demand for a highly complex product such as electric vehicles.”
