Al Bawani signed an agreement with Lucid Group, Inc., a U.S.-based electric vehicle company with the longest range, fastest charging electric car on the market, to build its first international production plant to manufacture electric vehicles in Saudi Arabia.
Eng. Fakher Al Shawaf, CEO of Al Bawani, said: “This is a significant milestone for us at Al Bawani, partnering with Lucid to not only promote a clean and sustainable automotive ecosystem but also demonstrate our willingness and support of economic diversification efforts away from fossil fuel. My sincere appreciation to Lucid for entrusting this opportunity to Al Bawani and for their support of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and our broader aggressive clean energy policies.”
The manufacturing facility will be built at the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC). Upon completion, the production plant is expected to offer job opportunities for several thousand people, a majority of whom are expected to be Saudi citizens.
Al Bawani began construction of the first phase of the facility in May 2022. This and future phases are expected to consist of many buildings across Lucid’s 1.3 million square meter campus plot, creating a home for Lucid’s state-of-the-art manufacutring process in the Kingdom.
The emergence of an electric vehicle manufacturing facility in the region will accelerate the strategic objective of Saudi Arabia to transform and diversity its economy through the development of sustainable energy and transportation, underscoring the Kingdom’s priority to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and shift to green and clean energy. Serving as the epicenter of electric vehicles in the region, the new plant is expected to address climate change through inspiring sustainable transportation. The new plant targets 155,000 vehicles per year at KAEC.
Al Bawani’s partnership with Lucid hints at a broader trend of Saudi businesses’ significant shift toward initiatives that support Saudi’s Green Initiative, heralded by HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to complement Vision 2030.
