Lucid Motors opens EV factory in Saudi Arabia

Ultimately, it all went very quickly: Only a few days after Lucid received the operating permit for its plant in Saudi Arabia, the carmaker opened its new factory, where the Lucid Air is assembled - but not yet fully manufactured.

US electric car manufacturer Lucid has officially opened its factory in Saudi Arabia. Shortly after receiving its operating licence, Lucid began assembling its electric sedan Air at the new plant in King Abdullah Economic City. Initially, vehicle kits prefabricated at Lucid’s US plant in Casa Grande (Arizona) will be assembled there.

It was not yet known to what extent the vehicle kits are pre-assembled – in the industry, a distinction is made between semi-knocked-down assembly (SKD) with certain components still pre-assembled and completely knocked-down assembly (CKD). In the latter, the vehicles are completely disassembled again after their original production, shipped, and reassembled in the other plant. Lucid, however, has opted for an SKD concept, in which the car is only partially disassembled before being shipped. SKD or CKD assembly is often used for tax reasons when importing car parts (including later assembly) is cheaper than importing a whole car. In Lucid’s case, however, it is the preliminary stage. The assembly line is now in operation. Full production, including the body and paint shop, will take place in Saudi Arabia later.

The annual capacity of the SKD assembly line is initially 5,000 vehicles. From the middle of this decade, Lucid plans to fully manufacture its electric cars at the plant in Saudi Arabia and increase capacity to 155,000 vehicles per year.

Incidentally, the plant is referred to as Lucid’s “second Advanced Manufacturing Plant” (AMP-2). AMP-1 is the main plant in Casa Grande, USA. Lucid has only the Air on the market with various powertrain and trim variants. The Gravity SUV will debut next year and is based on the same technology platform.

“We are delighted to make history today in Saudi Arabia by opening the country’s first car manufacturing facility, which will produce our award-winning electric vehicles and support the country’s vision for a more sustainable and diversified economy,” said Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO, Lucid Group. “As Saudi charges toward its Vision 2030, our facility will pave the way for the country’s electric automotive industry and the expansion of the supply chain, and with the support of the Saudi Government, we are proud to drive local talent development in the technology industry.”

lucidmotors.com