Saudi Arabia reportedly looking to set up a local EV company

Saudi Arabia is reportedly thinking about setting up an electric car company in its country. It was reported that the country has contacted advisers, including Boston Consulting Group, on how to proceed with the plan.

This is reportedly part of Saudi Arabia’s measures to encourage local production and the growth of electric vehicle infrastructure in the country.

Saudi Arabia is not a stranger to the EV industry. Its investment arm, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), sitting on $400 billion, has put money in two major EV startups before. It bought a stake in Tesla but PIF eventually sold most of its stock in Tesla.

image source: Lucid Motors

The second EV company that has received funds from PIF is Lucid Motors, one of Tesla’s strongest rivals. PIF invested $1 billion. There were even talks of Lucid setting up a manufacturing plant near Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, as reported by Bloomberg. The news of Lucid merging with a SPAC company however overshadowed the reported discussion in the news cycle.

When asked to confirm the news, a PIB spokesperson did not give a specific reply but emphasized that the oil-rich kingdom is very much committed to diversifying its sources of revenue, as it wants to avoid an over-reliance on its hydrocarbon resources.

image source www.evgo.com

Earlier in January, PIF boss, Yasir Al-Rumayyan said in a media briefing in Riyadh that the investment organization was hoping to sign deals this year or the next that would catalyze the growth of locally made electric products, including battery powered cars, “Now we’re in the process of looking at electric appliances. In relation to cars, there is more than one project that we’re now looking at, and they will be executed this year or next year at the latest.”