Saudi Arabia grants industrial licence to Ceer to start manufacturing EVs

The brand’s first electric cars are scheduled to be available in 2025

Electric vehicles are expected to make up about half of the new car sales worldwide by 2035. Reuters

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has granted an industrial licence to Ceer, a joint venture between the Public Investment Fund and Taiwan’s Foxconn, to start manufacturing electric vehicles in the kingdom.

Ceer – the kingdom’s first EV brand – was launched last year, as the country aims to boost its manufacturing sector and diversify its economy away from oil.

The company will build its new manufacturing unit in an area covering more than one million square metres in King Abdullah Economic City’s Industrial Valley, the ministry said on Wednesday.

It will design, manufacture and sell a range of vehicles for consumers in Saudi Arabia and the Mena region – including sedans and sports utility vehicles.

The brand’s first electric vehicles are scheduled to be available in 2025.

Ceer is expected to attract more than 562 million Saudi riyals ($149 million) of foreign direct investment and create up to 30,000 direct and indirect jobs.

It is also projected to directly contribute 30 billion riyals to Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product by 2034, the statement said.

It will also support the kingdom's efforts to reduce carbon emissions and drive sustainability to address the impact of climate change.

Electric vehicles are set to make up half of new car sales worldwide by 2035, according to Goldman Sachs Research. AP

With the global light vehicles market expected to double in the next decade, the automotive sector presents a compelling regional opportunity, said Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources spokesman Jarrah Al Jarrah.

The automotive manufacturing industry will serve as a catalyst for other priority sectors such as minerals and chemicals.

“The development aligns with the kingdom's diversification goals and its ability to export to neighbouring markets, contributing to the growth of the non-oil economy,” Mr Al Jarrah said.

Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, is in the middle of a major economic diversification drive under its Vision 2030 agenda.

This includes a push to reduce its reliance on oil and tap into other high-growth industries to boost its economy, create more jobs and attract private investment.

The kingdom's economy grew by 3.8 per cent in the first quarter on an annual basis, boosted by growth in the non-oil sector as the kingdom continues to diversify its economy from hydrocarbons, the General Authority for Statistics said this month.

Electric vehicles are expected to make up about half of the new car sales worldwide by 2035 as the push for net-zero carbon emissions accelerates, according to Goldman Sachs Research.

EV sales will soar to about 73 million units in 2040, up from around two million in 2020, with the percentage of EVs in worldwide car sales projected to rise to 61 per cent from 2 per cent during the period, the US-based investment bank said in a report in February.