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Agencies
Electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors plans to build a factory in Saudi Arabia by 2025 or 2026 as it seeks to ramp up production and capitalise on demand for electric cars, the company’s chairman told Bloomberg Television.
“Now that we are successfully producing and selling cars in the US, our attention is turning to this factory here,” Andrew Liveris told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday at a mining conference in Riyadh.
The California-based company, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund, is negotiating the details with ministries in the kingdom.
Lucid was founded in 2007 under the name Atieva and was initially focused on building EV batteries. In 2016, it rebranded as Lucid Motors, moved away from being a supplier and started to develop a luxury sedan to rival Tesla.
In 2018, the PIF invested more than $1 billion in Lucid to acquire a substantial stake, helping it to accelerate its manufacturing plans.
The company also became the first EV start-up to go public through a special purpose acquisition company after it merged with a blank-cheque company backed by Wall Street dealmaker Michael Klein in July.
Lucid, which makes the $169,000 limited production saloon car, Lucid Air Dream Edition, announced in September that it has started production of its consumer electric cars.
Its three other models include Air Pure ($77,400), Air Touring ($95,000) and Air Grand Touring ($139,000).
However, Lucid’s manufacturing too has been hit by the ongoing supply chain disruptions, Mr Liveris said.
“We’ll have a lot more to say to the market about the sorts of things we’re seeing in the supply chain … yes, we’re experiencing supply chain issues,” he told Bloomberg Television.
Carmakers, particularly, have been hit as the Covid-induced chip shortage and supply chain disruptions have halted production in factories across the world.
Automotive giants such as Volkswagen, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota and Nissan all said they have been hit by the shortage and have been forced to delay production of some models in order to keep other factories running.
Electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors plans to build a factory in Saudi Arabia by 2025 or 2026 as it seeks to ramp up production and capitalise on demand for electric cars, the company’s chairman told Bloomberg Television.
“Now that we are successfully producing and selling cars in the US, our attention is turning to this factory here,” Andrew Liveris told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday at a mining conference in Riyadh.
The California-based company, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund, is negotiating the details with ministries in the kingdom.
Lucid was founded in 2007 under the name Atieva and was initially focused on building EV batteries. In 2016, it rebranded as Lucid Motors, moved away from being a supplier and started to develop a luxury sedan to rival Tesla.
In 2018, the PIF invested more than $1 billion in Lucid to acquire a substantial stake, helping it to accelerate its manufacturing plans.
The company also became the first EV start-up to go public through a special purpose acquisition company after it merged with a blank-cheque company backed by Wall Street dealmaker Michael Klein in July.
Lucid, which makes the $169,000 limited production saloon car, Lucid Air Dream Edition, announced in September that it has started production of its consumer electric cars.
Its three other models include Air Pure ($77,400), Air Touring ($95,000) and Air Grand Touring ($139,000).
However, Lucid’s manufacturing too has been hit by the ongoing supply chain disruptions, Mr Liveris said.
“We’ll have a lot more to say to the market about the sorts of things we’re seeing in the supply chain … yes, we’re experiencing supply chain issues,” he told Bloomberg Television.
Carmakers, particularly, have been hit as the Covid-induced chip shortage and supply chain disruptions have halted production in factories across the world.
Automotive giants such as Volkswagen, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota and Nissan all said they have been hit by the shortage and have been forced to delay production of some models in order to keep other factories running.
