Lucid Motors to open the first assembly plant of Saudi Arabia
- The American brand Lucid Motors based in California has been marketing the large, battery electric Air sedan in the USA since October 2021, which is produced in a plant located in Casa Grande in Arizona (AMP-1 plant). Nearly 5,000 units have been sold in the USA since the plant started. The 4.97 m long sedan competes with the Tesla Model S (also 4.97 m long) which has already sold more than 450,000 units since 2012, including 38,000 units in 2022. This volume will be very difficult to achieve by the Lucid Air. Since June 2022, the Lucid Air has also been marketed in Europe. Around a hundred units have been sold there to date.
- In April 2022, Lucid Motors announced a large order from Saudi Arabia for 50,000 Air sedans, the Saudi public fund being the brand's largest shareholder, with 61% of the capital. The carmaker announced shortly after the construction of a new assembly plant in Saudi Arabia (AMP-2 plant) to fulfill this order.
- In September 2023, Lucid Motors inaugurates its assembly plant in Saudi Arabia, which is the first automobile assembly plant in the country, located around a hundred kilometers from Jeddah, on the banks of the Red Sea. This geographical location will ultimately provide potential for vehicle exports by land and sea. This plant has an initial capacity of 5,000 cars per year in SKD (SKD= “Semi Knock Down”). It will therefore take 10 years for delivery of the 50,000 cars ordered by Saudi Arabia.
- The carmaker indicates that in ten years, the plant will be able to assemble 150,000 cars per year. Saudi Arabia, for its part, indicates a target of 30% sales of new battery electric vehicles on its soil in 2030 (Saudi Green Initiative). It implies that most of the cars produced will be exported. This objective could materialize between 2030 and 2035, when sales of electric cars will be the majority in Europe.