Kingdom launches its first electric car brand

Company called Ceer is partnership with Chinese industrial giant Foxconn

Saudi Arabia on Thursday launched the Kingdom’s first brand of electric vehicles.

The company, called Ceer, is a partnership between the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, and Foxconn, China’s biggest private sector employer.

The project is expected to attract more than $150 million in foreign investment, create up to 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and contribute $8 billion to the Kingdom’s GDP by 2034. The first cars will be available in 2025.

“Saudi Arabia is not just build‘Saudi Arabia is not just building a new automotive brand, we are igniting a new industry and an ecosystem that attracts international and local investments,’ said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. ing a new automotive brand, we are igniting a new industry and an ecosystem that attracts international and local investments, creates job opportunities for local talent, enables the private sector, and contributes to increasing Saudi Arabia’s GDP over the next decade,” said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, chairman of the PIF.

The PIF said Ceer would be “the first Saudi automotive brand to produce electric vehicles in Saudi Arabia, and will design, manufacture and sell a range of vehicles … including sedans and sports utility vehicles.”

The joint venture will license component technology from BMW. “Foxconn will develop the electrical architecture of the vehicles, resulting in a portfolio of products that will lead in the areas of infotainment, connectivity and autonomous driving technologies,” the PIF said.