Riyadh September 28 2023: Lucid Group has inaugurated its inaugural electric vehicle (EV) factory in the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) of Saudi Arabia.
This facility, known as AMP-2, represents Lucid’s second advanced manufacturing plant.
Officially, AMP-2 received support from the Ministry of Investment, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF), and KAEC.
AMP-2 has commenced semi knocked-down (SKD) assembly and is poised to achieve an annual production capacity of 5,000 vehicles. Initially, it will re-assemble Lucid Air vehicle ‘kits’ that are pre-fabricated at the company’s AMP-1 Manufacturing Facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, USA.
Lucid has set its sights on transitioning AMP-2 to complete build unit (CBU) production by the middle of the decade, with an additional capacity of 150,000 vehicles annually.
The automaker plans to hire hundreds of Saudi nationals in the initial years, with the aim of eventually expanding the workforce into the thousands.
The factory’s strategic location near Jeddah will also play a pivotal role in bolstering and expanding the newly established domestic supply chain. This will create demand for local suppliers and foster long-term growth. Jeddah’s position on the Kingdom’s Red Sea coast already offers robust supply chain access by land and sea, enabling Lucid to potentially export its luxury electric vehicles to other regions in the future.
Faisal Sultan, Vice President and Managing Director Middle East at Lucid Group, commented on the occasion, saying, “The opening of our facility today marks the commencement of our production operations for the assembly of our world-class Lucid Air. AMP-2 in KAEC, coupled with our existing AMP-1 facility in Arizona, positions us well to efficiently fulfill the recently inked agreement with the government of Saudi Arabia to procure up to 100,000 vehicles over a ten-year span. This includes an initial commitment to acquire 50,000 vehicles and an option to purchase an additional 50,000 vehicles over the same period.”
The Economic Cities and Special Zones Authority (ECZA) recently granted Lucid the operating license for its manufacturing unit, which spans an area of over 1.35 million square meters, accounting for nearly 31% of the total area designated for vehicle manufacturing within KAEC.
