Hugely important, fantastic and related news.
Nov 4, 2022 - 01:41 pm
Saudi Arabia presents its very own EV brand
Saudi Arabia has unveiled its first electric car brand. It is called Ceer and is a joint venture between the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF (Public Investment Fund) and the Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn. The latter will develop the electric platform for a range of Ceer models, including sedans and SUVs.
The vehicles will be manufactured in Saudi Arabia and sold in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region from 2025. Components from BMW will also be licensed for Ceer’s electric vehicles. In identical press releases, the partners announce that they want to create an e-vehicle portfolio “that will lead the way in infotainment, connectivity and autonomous driving”. The duo did not elaborate on the planned vehicles and production capacities.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia sets economic targets for the brand: Ceer is expected to attract more than 150 million US dollars in foreign direct investment and create up to 30,000 direct and indirect jobs. The US electric car manufacturer
Lucid Motors is also building a factory in Saudi Arabia that will be designed for an annual capacity of 150,000 electric cars. The government of Saudi Arabia will buy up to 100,000 Lucid electric cars over a ten-year period, according to an agreement signed in
April 2022.
The Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF focuses on developing promising sectors that can help diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy. The Saudi Arabian government is very keen on the automotive sector: even before the current brand launch and the investment in Lucid Motors, the PIF was already known in the industry – for example, as an investor in Tesla (although there was a quasi-exit in 2020) and more recently in Aston Martin.
For Foxconn, the joint venture with the PIF is another mainstay. Chairman Young Liu describes it as a pleasure to create a new automotive company focused on designing and manufacturing electric vehicles in and for Saudi Arabia. “We will leverage Foxconn’s technological expertise to support Ceer’s vision of creating a range of iconic electric vehicles that are built around the themes of connectivity, infotainment and autonomy. We want to make electric vehicles mainstream, and that is what Ceer is going to achieve in Saudi Arabia and the wider region”
www.electrive.com
3 minute readNovember 3, 20226:56 PM GMT+1Last Updated 3 days ago
Saudi wealth fund sets up electric car joint venture with Foxconn
By
Alaa Swilam
and
Yousef Saba
A woman carrying an umbrella walks past the logo of Foxconn outside a company's building in Taipei, Taiwan October 31, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Nov 3 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth said on Thursday it will make electric cars in the kingdom under a joint venture with Apple supplier Foxconn
(2317.TW) as part of a push to build new industries and lessen dependence on oil.
Ceer "is the first Saudi automotive brand to produce electric vehicles in Saudi Arabia, and will design, manufacture and sell a range of vehicles for consumers in Saudi Arabia and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, including sedans and sports utility vehicles," PIF said in a statement.
PIF said its cars would be available in 2025, adding Ceer would draw more than $150 million in foreign direct investment, create up to 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and is projected to contribute $8 billion to the kingdom's GDP by 2034.
The joint venture "will license component technology from BMW for use in the vehicle development process," PIF said in a statement.
"Foxconn will develop the electrical architecture of the vehicles, resulting in a portfolio of products that will lead in the areas of infotainment, connectivity and autonomous driving technologies," it added.
An investment strategy announced last year aims for more than $100 billion in FDI annually and Saudi Arabia
still lags behind those targets, with just over $4 billion in inflows in the first half of this year.
Chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, PIF is his chosen vehicle to drive efforts to diversify the economy and wean it off oil.
Lucid Group Inc, which is more than 60% owned by PIF, is building an electric vehicle assembly plant in Jeddah with an eventual capacity to manufacture 150,000 vehicles a year. The Saudi government signed a
deal with Lucid to buy up to 100,000 of its cars over the next 10 years.
A Lucid spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.
The kingdom is also making a push into mining and said in May that it would build an electric vehicle battery
metals plant.
"We will leverage Foxconn's technological expertise to support Ceer's vision of creating a range of iconic electric vehicles that are built around the themes of connectivity, infotainment and autonomy," Foxconn Chairman Young Liu said, according to PIF's statement.
"We want to make electric vehicles mainstream, and that is what Ceer is going to achieve in Saudi Arabia and the wider region," he added.
PIF did not disclose funding details and did not say how much a Ceer plant would cost or where in the kingdom it would be built. A PIF spokesman could not be reached for further comment.
The Wall Street Journal
reported in March that Saudi Arabia and Foxconn were in talks to jointly build a $9 billion facility that could make microchips, electric-vehicle components and other electronics in NEOM, a futuristic $500 billion city being built in Saudi Arabia's desert.
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth said on Thursday it will make electric cars in the kingdom under a joint venture with Apple supplier Foxconn as part of a push to build new industries and lessen dependence on oil.
www.reuters.com
Best thing that could happen along with the Lucid Motors. KSA will have a incredibly strong position.
Also very important to have Foxconn directly involved.
Absolutely fantastic news and a true game changer!
Riyadh wants the company to guarantee that at least two-thirds of its foundry production will be directed to Foxconn's existing supply chain to ensure there are buyers for its products and that the project is ultimately profitable, a person familiar with the matter said.
Foxconn is seeking massive incentives including financing, tax holidays, and electricity and water subsidies in exchange for help in establishing high-tech manufacturing in the country as Saudi Arabia seeks to diversify its economy away from oil, people familiar with the matter said.
Another person familiar with the matter said Saudi Arabia could offer direct equity co-investment, industrial development loans, low-interest debt from local banks, and export credits to compete with other jurisdictions Foxconn might consider.
Saudi authorities and Foxconn did not respond to requests for comment.
https://www.utmel.com/blog/news/oth...llion-to-build-a-chip-factory-in-saudi-arabia
My worries are over. MbS means business! Inshallah this is just the beginning of KSA's journey.
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