Lucid Motors has unveiled a “special edition” of only 93 cars in celebration of Saudi Arabia’s National Day, naming it “Kingdom’s Dream.” Lucid also opened its factory in Saudi Arabia today, Wednesday, as part of the kingdom’s efforts to become one of the top 5 producers and exporters of electric cars in the world. Last year, Lucid announced plans to establish the factory in Jeddah and stated that Saudi Arabia had signed an agreement to purchase up to 100,000 vehicles from the company over the course of ten years.
Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih stated, “Today we are making history… We are not only manufacturing vehicles here in Saudi Arabia but also opening the first electric car manufacturing plant in the Middle East.” He added, “These vehicles will travel around the world, from the east coast of China to the west coast of the Americas, bearing the ‘Made in Saudi Arabia’ label.”
The Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund, the largest shareholder in Lucid Motors, is tasked with leading the kingdom’s plan to reduce reliance on oil revenues at a time when it enters the electric car industry dominated by countries like China and the United States. In 2022, Saudi Arabia launched its first electric car brand, “SIR,” and announced a $6 billion investment in a complex for steel panels and a factory for electric car battery metals. It’s also been reported that Tesla, a leading player in this field, is in early-stage discussions to establish a factory in Saudi Arabia.
The “AMP-2” factory, a subsidiary of Lucid Motors located in the King Abdullah Economic City, will produce the “Lucid Air” luxury electric sedan with an initial production capacity of up to 5,000 cars per year. The factory will be expanded to produce 155,000 cars annually in the future. Lucid Motors also has another manufacturing facility in the U.S. state of Arizona.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund, which owns just over 60% of the electric car company, approved a $1.8 billion investment in Lucid as part of the company’s initial public offering in May. In recent times, the spotlight has been on Saudi Arabia’s efforts to diversify its economy away from oil and its commitment to the global plan to reduce carbon emissions, driving the localization of several non-oil industries, with the electric car sector being a major focus.
According to a report from the Financial Times, Saudi Arabia is aiming to produce 500,000 electric cars annually by the year 2030. The key component of Saudi Arabia’s plan is its electric car factory “SIR,” which aims to introduce its cars in 2025 through a partnership with the Taiwanese technology group “Foxconn.”