Ceer, a new Saudi electric car brand created with Foxconn and BMW
Saudi Arabia has announced the creation of its own brand of electric cars, dubbed ‘Ceer’, in collaboration with two major manufacturers, Foxconn and BMW. Foxconn will be in charge of manufacturing the vehicles, while BMW will provide the technology for the vehicles. From the country, they say:
The company, which is a joint venture between PIF and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (“Foxconn”), will license component technology from BMW for use in the vehicle development process. Foxconn will develop the electrical architecture of the vehicles, resulting in a product portfolio that will be leading in the areas of infotainment, connectivity and autonomous driving technologies.
The new brand, Ceer, is powered by sovereign wealth funds (PIF) from oil-exporting Saudi Arabia. With this shift in strategy, there can be less and less doubt that electric mobility is here to stay.
A statement from Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), announced the creation of Ceer, the statement said, to “help boost the diversification of the economy, to help achieve the goals of the ‘Vision 2030′ strategy”.
At the time, the same fund that is behind Ceer was also in talks with Tesla for its privatisation, although it did not finally come to fruition, but it did give a glimpse of the change in strategy that Saudi Arabia was willing to make in the not too distant future, as can be seen with the creation of this new brand. With whom it did end up investing heavily was Lucid Motors, leading to the creation of a factory in Saudi Arabia.
The first electric vehicles under the new Ceer brand are expected to be delivered in 2025. The statement said Ceer vehicles will be offered “to consumers in Saudi Arabia and the MENA region, including sedans and sport utility vehicles”.
Ceeris expected todirectly contribute $8 billion to Saudi Arabia’s GDP by 2034. In addition, a financial injection of more than $150 million is expected to come from abroad, although it is not specified who this will be. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said:
“Saudi Arabia is not just building a new automotive brand, we are igniting a new industry and ecosystem that attracts international and local investment, creates job opportunities for local talent, empowers the private sector and contributes to increasing Saudi Arabia’s GDP over the next decade, as part of the FPI’s strategy to drive economic growth in line with Vision 2030.”
Saudi Arabia’s target is to export 150,000 electric vehicles by 2026, with both Lucid Motors’ electric vehicles and the new Ceer brand coming into play, in addition to other potential brands coming into the country.
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