Saudi Arabia wants to establish its own domestic electric car manufacturer, according to the latest reports.
It is understood that Saudi Arabia has hired advisors including Boston Consulting Group to explore its options of creating a new EV manufacturer. A spokesperson from the kingdom’s sovereign-wealth fund has confirmed it is looking to diversify the country’s reliance on oil but failed to provide specifics about the EV plans.
The Public Investment Fund acquired a small stake in Tesla in 2018 but sold its shares just before the company’s insane rally in late 2019 and throughout 2020. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund also invested $1 billion into Lucid Motors and had been in talks with the company to establish a factory in the city of Jeddah.
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During a media briefing in late January, the head of the kingdom’s wealth fund, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, said they are looking to agree to deals this year or next year to expand local manufacturing.
“Now we’re in the process of looking at electric appliances,” he said, according to Bloomberg. “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.”
