Oil giant Aramco enters partnership with BYD

Saudi oil company Aramco has signed a development agreement with BYD in the field of New Energy Vehicles – encompassing both battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. However, the partners are keeping details under wraps.

Aramco, one of the world’s most valuable and profitable companies, is increasingly diversifying to futureproof its business. The group already announced plans to enter the lithium business, a key raw material for EV batteries. The logic behind this move is to expand Aramco’s expertise into a ‘neighbouring sector’, leveraging its technological capabilities and strengths in resource and data management.

This latest tie-up with BYD – the world’s largest EV manufacturer ahead of Tesla – appears to follow that same strategy. According to a press release, the partnership ‘aims to foster the development of innovative technologies that enhance efficiency and environmental performance.’ As part of the collaboration, Aramco and BYD plan to integrate their R&D teams to pursue breakthroughs in New Energy Vehicle technology. What these breakthroughs might look like, however, remains unspecified.

Aramco’s Chief Technology Officer, Ali A. Al-Meshari, commented: “The collaboration between SATC and BYD aims to support energy efficiency improvements, and it builds on Aramco’s extensive research and development of new energy solutions. Aramco is exploring a number of ways to potentially optimise transport efficiency, from innovative lower-carbon fuels to advanced powertrain concepts. This work stems from our belief that multiple approaches are necessary to support a practical energy transition and we are delighted to collaborate with BYD on this journey.”

Luo Hongbin, Senior Vice President at BYD, added: “At the crossroads of technological innovation and environmental protection, BYD always believes that true breakthroughs come from openness and collaboration. We expect that SATC and our cutting-edge R&D capabilities in new energy vehicles will break the boundaries of geography and mindset to incubate solutions that combine highly-efficient performance with a lower carbon footprint. We are confident that this will support the world’s efforts to address the climate challenge.”

BYD began selling its vehicles in Saudi Arabia in February 2024 and currently operates three showrooms in the country. Its main competitor, Tesla, only followed suit this month – a surprising delay, considering that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) was once Tesla’s largest shareholder. That relationship soured in the past but now appears to have been resolved. Meanwhile, the PIF has become the biggest shareholder of Tesla’s rival Lucid.

Electric mobility has yet to take off in Saudi Arabia, where fuel prices remain exceptionally low. EVs currently account for just one per cent of new car sales. However, the country has set ambitious targets, aiming to boost that share to 30 per cent within five years. According to a Reuters report, there were just 101 EV charging stations in Saudi Arabia as of late 2024. Tesla, however, has already announced plans to roll out its Supercharger network as part of its market entry

aramco.com, reuters.com