Automotive - According to the general manager of LUCID Electric Vehicles in the Middle East, LUCID (LCID.O) has assembled nearly 800 vehicles in its factory in Saudi Arabia since its opening. At the same time, the company focuses on training more than 200 local employees.
Headquartered in California, LUCID opened its first factory outside the United States in September, with an initial production capacity of 5,000 electric vehicles annually. This move followed the Saudi government's commitment to purchase up to 100,000 vehicles over the next ten years.
Faisal Sultan, the global vice president of LUCID, stated, "The car is fully manufactured in Arizona, then disassembled and shipped here as a set of parts, and then this set is reassembled together." He added that workers at the factory in Jeddah are responsible for reconnecting the battery, reassembling the tires and body, and retesting the vehicle.
The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns over 60% of LUCID, has invested billions in the company. This is seen as part of the government's plans to create a hub for electric vehicle manufacturing.
As of September, LUCID recorded a cumulative loss of $9.5 billion, having reported losses every year since its inception. Sultan said, "The Saudi factory still represents a small operation for us. The reason we keep it this way is that we want to take small steps in our approach to training people."
He said, "You are manufacturing about 16 to 20 vehicles a day, rather than producing them all in one hour, to train the workers. LUCID is preparing the employees, half of whom are Saudis, to open a complete manufacturing unit which is a factory capable of producing a vehicle in 2026, and work on it has already begun."
Sultan stated that the opening of the factory depends on supply chains and workforce development, adding, "It has to make commercial sense eventually to open this factory, but construction is ongoing." LUCID hopes that the factory will help encourage key parts suppliers to establish a presence in the Kingdom.
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