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Saudi Arabia Grants First Local Brand License for Electric Car Manufacturing

Lucid electric cars (Lucid Motors)
Lucid electric cars (Lucid Motors)
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Saudi Arabia Grants First Local Brand License for Electric Car Manufacturing

Lucid electric cars (Lucid Motors)
Lucid electric cars (Lucid Motors)

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has granted an industrial license to Ceer, the first local electric vehicle (EV) brand.

The EV manufacturing facility will cover an area of one million square meters in King Abdullah Economic City’s Industrial Valley.

A joint venture between the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Foxconn, Ceer was launched last November under the aegis of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources Spokesperson Jarrah bin Mohammed Al-Jarrah has emphasized the strategic significance of the automotive industry in the Kingdom’s overall industrial strategy.

He added that with the global light vehicles market expected to double in the next decade, the automotive sector presents a compelling regional opportunity.

Al-Jarrah also stressed that the automotive manufacturing industry will serve as a catalyst for other priority sectors, such as minerals and chemicals.

It aligns with the Kingdom’s diversification goals and its ability to export to neighboring markets, contributing to the growth of the non-oil economy.

In addition to direct economic benefits, the development of a national automotive sector will indirectly benefit the economy and the local industry in several ways, including through knowledge transfer, industry localization, development of local content, and creation of job opportunities for Saudi citizens.

Ceer is the first Saudi automotive brand to produce electric vehicles in Saudi Arabia; it will design, manufacture and sell a range of vehicles for consumers in Saudi Arabia and MENA region, including sedans and SUVs.

Ceer’s vehicles will be tested to the highest global automotive quality control and safety standards. The brand’s electric vehicles are scheduled to be available in 2025.

The factory will be state-of-the-art, featuring the latest technologies to ensure manufacturing efficiency while minimizing energy and water usage.

Ceer is expected to attract over SAR562 million ($149.8 million) worth of foreign direct investment and create up to 30,000 direct and indirect jobs. It is projected to directly contribute SAR30 billion to Saudi Arabia’s GDP by 2034.

In other news, the ministry, represented by the General Administration of Comprehensive Industrial Service Centers and Compliance Management, conducted 1,577 field visits to industrial facilities in several regions of the Kingdom during May.

These visits were part of regular inspections to monitor the factories, assess their readiness, and ensure their compliance with quality standards and necessary regulations.

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IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
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IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East could have significant economic ramifications for the region and the global economy, but commodity prices remain below the highs of the past year.

IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack told a regular news briefing that the Fund is closely monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon with "grave concern" and offered condolences for the loss of life.

"The potential for further escalation of the conflict heightens risks and uncertainty and could have significant economic ramifications for the region and beyond," Kozack said.

According to Reuters, she said it was too early to predict specific impacts on the global economy, but noted that economies in the region have already suffered greatly, especially in Gaza, where the civilian population "faces dire socioeconomic conditions, a humanitarian crisis and insufficient aid deliveries.

The IMF estimates that Gaza's GDP declined 86% in the first half of 2024, Kozack said, while the West Bank's first-half GDP likely declined 25%, with prospects of a further deterioration.

Israel's GDP contracted by about 20% in the fourth quarter of 2023 after the conflict began, and the country has seen only a partial recovery in the first half of 2024, she added.
The IMF will update its economic projections for all countries and the global economy later in October when the global lender and World Bank hold their fall meetings in Washington.
"In Lebanon, the recent intensification of the conflict is exacerbating the country's already fragile macroeconomic and social situation," Kozack said, referring to Israel's airstrikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"The conflict has inflicted a heavy human toll on the country, and it has damaged physical infrastructure."
The main channels for the conflict to impact the global economy have been through higher commodity prices, including oil and grains, as well as increased shipping costs, as vessels avoid potential missile attacks by Yemen's Houthis on vessels in the Red Sea, Kozack said. But commodity prices are currently lower than their peaks in the past year.
"I just emphasize once again that we're closely monitoring the situation, and this is a situation of great concern and very high uncertainty," she added.
Lebanon in 2022 reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a potential loan program, but there has been insufficient progress on required reforms, Kozack said.
"We are prepared to engage with Lebanon on a possible financing program when the situation is appropriate to do so, but it would necessitate that the actions can be taken and decisive policy measures can be taken," Kozack added. "We are currently supporting Lebanon through capacity development assistance and other areas where possible."