- Saudi Arabia’s focus on the EV market aligns with national strategy to diversify economy away from oil, Financial Times reports
- PIF investments drive battery-powered vehicle ecosystem, with aim to produce 500,000 cars a year by 2030
- The Fund supports the creation of job opportunities, knowledge transfer and attraction of direct foreign investment
Saudi Arabia is putting the electric vehicle industry in the driving seat, as part of its nationwide strategy to diversify the economy away from oil, which is its major source of revenue as the world's largest energy exporter, the Financial Times reported.
In line with nationwide roadmap Vision 2030, the country is investing in creating an electric vehicle manufacturing hub. It plans to produce 500,000 cars a year by the end of the decade.
The nation is capitalizing on the expected growth of the battery-powered vehicle market, with PIF driving electric vehicle projects, the FT noted.
Ceer, which means “drive" or “go" in Arabic, is central to the Saudi EV strategy. The joint venture between PIF and Foxconn, with BMW as the component technology provider in the vehicle development process, aims to offer its first supply of affordable cars for sale in 2025.
Meanwhile, U.S.-based Lucid Motors, in which PIF owns a stake, intends to produce a quarter of Saudi Arabia's EV target.
To meet the challenge of rising battery component prices, PIF is also investing in mining abroad to secure its supply of lithium and other minerals used in batteries.
PIF is investing in diverse sectors, with the goal of creating new job opportunities in the private sector, upskilling the work force and attracting foreign direct investment.
Read the full Financial Times feature here.
Other media coverage of Lucid and Ceer from Bloomberg, Global Fleet, AutoEvolution and Trade Arabia
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