Jeddah: King Abdullah Economic City hosted the first manufacturing facility for electric vehicles, which is affiliated with US Lucid Motors, and is partially owned by the Public Investment Fund.

The manufacturing unit is established on an area of over 1.35 million square meters and occupies 31% of the total space allocated to the vehicles industry in the special economic zone at the King Abdullah Economic City.

The Economic Cities and Special Zones Authority (ECZA) has recently granted a license to operate the group's manufacturing unit, whose manufacturing plant (AMP-2) will stimulate innovation, provide new jobs for Saudis and support the growth of the Kingdom's automotive supply chain while providing training for gaining specialized skills amid expectations to produce 155,000 vehicles per year upon the completion of the facility that enjoys a strategic location at the King Abdullah Economic City.

Lucid contributes to the Saudi Green Initiative's goal of having at least 30% electric vehicles in the Kingdom by 2030, which will play an essential role in accelerating the achievement of the strategic objective of diversifying the Kingdom's economy and supporting Saudi Arabia's endeavours to build a more sustainable and diversified economy. AMP-2 has received considerable support from the Ministry of Investment, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund and the King Abdullah Economic City, and will be able to produce unprecedented electric vehicles by Lucid to be introduced in the Kingdom's market and for exportation to other markets.

Speaking to the Saudi Press Agency, ECZA Secretary-General Nabil Khojah said that realizing this historic achievement of having the Kingdom's first electric vehicle manufacturing facility enhances its progress towards achieving the Saudi Vision 2030, thanks to the government's support for this entity that is expected to contribute to developing local talents in the technology sector and creating long-term economic value for the Kingdom, noting that having the facility in the Kingdom coexists with the announcement by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to launch the Special Economic Zones Program in April this year and announcing four new special economic zones at the King Abdullah Economic City, Jazan City, Ras Al Khair and Cloud Computing Special Economic Zone in Riyadh.

Khojah stressed that the field of electric vehicle industry is a very different technology from normal cars, which plays a significant role in the development of human resources, the development of knowledge and its transfer to the Kingdom, and in finding new types and industries that did not exist, where the goal is not merely establishing a factory, rather than transferring an entire industry into the Kingdom, especially that having an industrial facility like Lucid means the need to having other factories.

The company's factory will produce four different types of electric vehicles starting in 2023 and will reach its full capacity in 2028, where 100 charging points will be set up after completing the entire infrastructure.