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Lucid to build EV plant in Saudi Arabia

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EV startup Lucid (NASDAQ: LCID) has signed agreements with the Saudi Arabian government with the goal of establishing a production facility in the country. Lucid says it “reviewed multiple opportunities” before selecting the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) as the site for its first international manufacturing plant.

At the new manufacturing hub, which will be fully owned by Lucid, the company plans to begin by assembling Lucid Air vehicle “kits” that are pre-manufactured at the company’s facility in Casa Grande, Arizona. Later, the KAEC facility will produce complete vehicles—eventually up to 150,000 per year. In the initial phase, the plant will produce vehicles for the Saudi market, but the ultimate goal is to export finished vehicles to other global markets.

Construction of the plant is expected to start in the first half of 2022.

Lucid’s AMP-1 in Arizona will continue to serve as the company’s central manufacturing hub. There, the company has begun a second phase of construction, which will add 2.85 million square feet of work space in order to expand to an annual production capacity of 365,000 vehicles. Lucid expects its combined capacity in Arizona and Saudi Arabia to exceed 500,000 vehicles per year once each facility reaches its target capacity.

Lucid has established an internship program to provide training for Saudi Arabian citizens at Lucid’s facilities in California and Arizona to develop talent for operations in Saudi Arabia. The company will also build training centers in KAEC to support skills development.

“Lucid aspires to be a catalyst for change wherever we go, so it makes perfect sense that we are bringing electric vehicles to one of the world’s biggest oil-producing nations,” said CEO and CTO Lucid Peter Rawlinson. “Establishing a global manufacturing footprint is a practical, natural step and enables us to grow our brand, scale our business, and address worldwide and untapped market demand on an entirely new level. Our strong relationships with [Saudi economic agencies] also give us unique insight into the demand for luxury cars and SUVs in Saudi Arabia and beyond.”

“Today, we take a major step towards Saudi Arabia’s goal of diversifying its economy by creating a new manufacturing hub to spearhead the future of mobility for the Middle East region,” said His Excellency Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia.

Source: Lucid Group

This article was originally published by Chargedevs.com. Read the original article here.
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