The EV industry often brings together multiple players through collaboration. Saudi Arabia and Foxconn are the latest, pairing up for an investment in electric cars.
Saudi Arabia will invest in its sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF). It is part of the kingdom’s blueprint to diversify away from oil.
The joint venture will use the Ceer branding. It will be 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,” according to the PIF.
Foxconn is famous for assembling iPhones for Apple.
The first cars from Ceer will be ready by 2025. They will use licensed component technology from BMW.
Saudi Arabia expects to attract more than $150 million in foreign direct investment through Ceer. Up to 30,000 jobs will be created, and $8 billion will be added to the kingdom’s GDP by 2034.
PIF owns more than 60 percent of Lucid Group Inc. The Saudi government has agreed to buy up to 100,000 cars from the company in ten years. The kingdom was involved in Elon Musk’s botched attempt to take Tesla private in 2018.
