Lucid opens first Saudi showroom as regional EV rivalry hots up

Lucid

• Lucid Studio in Riyadh follows the EV company’s Saudi factory plan
• NWTN to establish an EV assembly plant in Abu Dhabi
• Lightyear opening testing facilities and sales office in Sharjah

Lucid Group announced the opening of its first showroom in the Middle East, located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as it looks to get ahead of rivals in the regional push for electric vehicles.

The Lucid Studio in the heart of the Saudi capital’s Al Nakheel district will offer a “digitally oriented premium experience”, the company said in a statement.

“The launch of our first studio in the Middle East marks yet another step towards Lucid’s mission to inspire the adoption of sustainable energy on a global scale, and I’m delighted this brand-new studio is set to open here in Saudi Arabia,” said Peter Rawlinson, the US-based company’s CEO and CTO.

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Faisal Sultan, vice president and managing director of Lucid Middle East, added: “Our in-depth knowledge of the region and our strategic partnerships enable us to deliver products catered to our customer base in the Middle East, and we’re delighted to be able to meet their growing demands for electric cars in our journey to combat climate change.” 

Earlier this year Lucid announced plans for a full production factory at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Saudi Arabia. 

The company plans to establish operations at KAEC for re-assembly of Lucid Air vehicles that are pre-manufactured at US hub in Casa Grande, Arizona, and, over time, for production of complete vehicles. 

Lucid expects to manufacture up to 155,000 vehicles per year at the KAEC facility.

In April Lucid announced an agreement with the Government of Saudi Arabia, under which the Government will purchase up to 100,000 vehicles over a 10-year period, with an initial commitment to purchase 50,000 vehicles and an option to purchase up to an additional 50,000 vehicles over the same period.

The company then revealed its Saudi plan aims to create 4,500 jobs. Vehicles will initially be slated for the Saudi Arabian market but they will also export to other global markets. 

The opening of Lucid’s first studio in the region follows an announcement by Abu Dhabi last month to host its first electric vehicle assembly facility.

KIZAD, part of AD Ports Group’s Economic Cities & Free Zones, signed a lease agreement with NWTN to establish an assembly plant in Abu Dhabi to serve growing demand.

Under the agreement NWTN plans to initially operate a 269,000 sq ft manufacturing, research and development, vehicle testing and logistics facility constructed by KIZAD with an annual capacity of up to 10,000 units for the assembly of semi-knocked-down (partly assembled) electric vehicles. 

In phase two, NWTN said it plans to introduce several new electric vehicle models and expand capacity to 50,000 units annually.

Earlier this month M Glory Holding Group and Dubai Industrial City announced the opening of a new 45,000 sq ft factory to house a temporary assembly line, which has a maximum production capacity of 10,000 electric cars per year.

Lightyear, the Dutch startup that launched the world’s first long-range production-ready solar electric vehicle, also picked the UAE for its first overseas expansion.

The company said it will be opening testing facilities and a sales office at the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTI Park), the first such facility outside the Netherlands.