Lucid Motors is in talks with the Saudi Public Investment Fund to build a factory for electric cars near the city of Jeddah on the Red Sea, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to “Bloomberg” and reviewed by “Al Arabiya.net”
Saudi Arabia is seeking to become a center in the Middle East to manufacture electric vehicles at a time when its economy diversifies from oil.
The sources said that the Public Investment Fund, which is already a shareholder in the “Lucid” company, will provide the necessary financing for the factory site in King Abdullah Economic City, indicating that the plans are in an advanced stage but may change. Manufacturing in the northwest of the Kingdom.
Lucid is one of several US companies seeking to compete with Tesla, as the startup targets the luxury side of the electric car market, with its CEO, Peter Rawlinson, as Tesla’s chief engineer on the Model S sedan.
Lucid raised more than $ 1 billion from the Public Investment Fund in 2018, an investment that was conditional on the company developing a site in Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah Economic City is located about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Jeddah, the second largest city in Saudi Arabia.
Lucid has unveiled plans to start production of a $ 169,000 sedan capable of running more than 500 miles (805 kilometers) on a single charge. It has also built a factory in the Arizona desert and deliveries to US customers of this model are expected to begin in the second quarter.
–
–
Lucid also plans to produce a cheaper $ 75,000 version of the sedan in 2022, which will be able to travel more than 400 miles on a single charge, and eventually build an SUV.
– .
