Lucid receives operating licence for Saudi Arabian plant

The first electric cars from Lucid could be assembled in Saudi Arabia as early as September. The company has now received the operating licence for the huge vehicle plant in the King Abdullah Economic City from the responsible authority.

US electric car maker Lucid has been granted an operating permit by the Saudi Economic Cities and Special Zones Authority (ECZA) for its factory in Saudi Arabia. Confirmed in spring 2022, the Lucid plant in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) covers an area of more than 1.35 million square metres and occupies about 31 per cent of the total space allocated to the automotive industry there.

Initially, it is not an independent plant with body production, but a vehicle assembly plant. This will assemble vehicle kits into ready-to-deliver cars that have been pre-produced at Lucid’s main plant in Casa Grande (Arizona). “Over time”, the production of complete vehicles is then to take place in Saudi Arabia. This would then require not only lines for final assembly, but also a press shop, a body shop and paint shops.

Lucid had stated in its second quarter annual report that construction of the plant was on track and that assembly of the first cars would begin there in September 2023. When fully operational, up to 155,000 Lucid electric cars can be produced there per year. Under an agreement with the government of Saudi Arabia, it will buy up to 100,000 vehicles from Lucid over a ten-year period.

Lucid had announced the plant itself in January 2022 and confirmed the location in KAEC in March. At the time, the site was said to be worth up to $3.4 billion to the company over a 15-year period.

“The establishment of a world-class e-vehicle manufacturing unit at KAEC SEZ in a short time frame demonstrates the efficiency, capabilities, and strengths of the SEZs in the kingdom,” says Nabil Khojah, Secretary General of ECZA. Faisal Sultan, Lucid Vice President and Managing Director for the Middle East, adds: “As the kingdom’s first ever e-vehicle manufacturing facility and Lucid’s first international plant, the facility will pave the way and set the standard for the automotive industry and provide the Saudi Arabian market with game-changing, advanced Saudi-assembled e-vehicles.”

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