Saudi Arabia agrees electric vehicle partnership with Foxconn

Saudi Arabia agrees electric vehicle partnership with Foxconn

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has agreed a deal with Apple partner Foxconn to produce electric vehicles in the kingdom as part of its push to diversify its oil-dependent economy.

The joint venture between Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Foxconn will operate under the brand name Ceer, which sounds like the word for “drive” in Arabic.

Ceer electric vehicles will be available from 2025, the PIF said in a statement on Thursday, adding that the joint venture is looking to attract $150mn in foreign direct investment and will license component technology from Germany’s BMW.

The $600bn PIF, which is chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and is in charge of steering the oil-rich kingdom’s economic diversification plan, has already acquired a 17 per cent stake in Aston Martin and a majority stake in electric vehicle producer Lucid Motors, which is constructing a factory to produce vehicles in the the country.

The rise of electric vehicles has created a large number of start-ups, including Tesla, Rivian and China’s Nio, but many of the industry’s recent entrants have faltered at the manufacturing stage or run short of money.

The PIF said that Ceer would offer SUVs and saloons in Saudi Arabia, the rest of the