Lucid’s electric vehicle hub to create 4,500 jobs in Saudi

US-based Lucid Group on Wednesday revealed more details about its plans to build an electric vehicle (EV) production hub in Saudi Arabia, with 4,500 jobs to be created. 

With an annual capacity to build 155,000 EVs, agreements in place are estimated to provide financing and incentives to Lucid of up to $3.4 billion over the next 15 years.

Deals were struck in February with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, Emaar, The Economic City and Gulf International Bank.

“I’m delighted this brand new manufacturing facility will come to fruition here in Saudi Arabia,” said Peter Rawlinson, Lucid’s CEO and CTO. 

“We are thrilled to be supporting Saudi Arabia in achieving its sustainability goals and net-zero ambitions, as outlined in Saudi Vision 2030 and the Saudi Green Initiative.”

Khalid Al-Falih, minister of investment of Saudi Arabia, said: “We are taking 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. 

Lucid plant in line with Saudi drive towards sustainabilty

“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.”

Rawlinson said Lucid, which has partnered with the Public Investment Fund, reviewed multiple options before selecting King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Saudi Arabia as the location for the second of its global network of electric vehicle manufacturing facilities. 

It is located close to King Abdullah Port along the main Red Sea trading corridor, an area which has handled more than a third of Saudi Arabia’s Western region container volumes. 

Lucid’s Middle East regional headquarters in Riyadh has been operational since last year.

At AMP-2, the name given to the new factory, Lucid plans to establish operations initially for re-assembly of Lucid Air vehicle “kits” that are pre-manufactured at the company’s US AMP-1 facility in Casa Grande, Arizona.

Over time, this will transition to the production of complete vehicles. 

Lucid said it expects construction of the plant to commence shortly and, at its peak, Lucid expects to manufacture up to 155,000 vehicles per year. 

Vehicles will be initially slated for the Saudi Arabian market, but Lucid plans to export finished vehicles to other global markets. 

In addition, Middle East regional deliveries of the Lucid Air are expected to begin later this year, supported from the Casa Grande factory.

Bandar Alkhorayef, the minister of industry and mineral resources and chairman of Saudi Industrial Development Fund, said the automotive industry in the kingdom is “one of the important sectors” supported by the National Industrial Strategy. 

He added: “We look forward to working with Lucid and other leading companies, while continuing to build our global expertise.”

Cyril Piaia, CEO of Emaar The Economic City, master developer of KAEC, said the project is likely to create over 4,500 jobs.

“Lucid has set out to address global market demand for EVs, while also taking action to address climate change through inspiring sustainable transportation, and today’s signing ceremony marks the beginning of this journey,” added Faisal Sultan, Lucid’s managing director, Middle East. 

In April, the Saudi Ministry of Finance entered into an agreement with Lucid to purchase at least 50,000 and potentially up to 100,000 Lucid vehicles over a 10-year period. 

The order quantity for the committed volume is expected to range from 1,000 to 2,000 vehicles annually and increase to between 4,000 and 7,000 vehicles annually by 2025. 

The purchase price of the vehicles will be based on Lucid’s standard retail prices as previously disclosed.