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Lucid Motors Reduces Prices of EV in Saudi Arabia

Lucid Motors Reduces Prices of EV in Saudi Arabia
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Lucid Motors Reduces Prices of EV in Saudi Arabia

Lucid Motors Reduces Prices of EV in Saudi Arabia

Lucid Motors, partially owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has reduced the prices of its electric vehicles (EVs) by 9-11 percent in Saudi Arabia, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

According to private sources, the reduction comes as a step after adjusting global selling prices, clarifying that the cost will be fixed after the drop and will not witness any review during the current year.

- Achieving production target

In July, Lucid sold 1,404 cars.

The CEO and chief technology officer, Peter Rawlinson, said Lucid is on pace to manufacture more than 10,000 vehicles this year.

"We're on track toward achieving our 2023 production target of more than 10,000 vehicles, but we recognize we still have work to do to grow our customer base," Rawlinson said in the statement.

Lucid Motors intends to launch the first electric car assembled at its factory in Saudi Arabia next September.

The company announced the establishment of a factory in the Kingdom, with an estimated investment of $3.2 billion, which will make as many as 155,000 electric vehicles annually.

- Developing future industries

In 2018, PIF agreed to invest more than $1 billion in Lucid Motors. It is the first company to truly benefit from the full potential of electric vehicles, as the investment enables the Fund to play a global role in developing future industries, mainly in new and advanced technologies.

The Lucid Air line includes four models: Lucid Air, the Air Touring with premium equipment, the Air Grand Touring with complete equipment, and the DreamDrive advanced driver assistance system.

The company had previously announced a deal to supply powertrain technology to Aston Martin Lagonda Holdings, partly owned by the Public Investment Fund.

- Arizona plant

Lucid's main factory is on up to 500 acres in Casa Grande, Arizona, USA. Located between Phoenix and Tucson, the Casa Grande offered proximity to critical utilities, an established transportation system, and strong support from state and local governments.

The facility is the first greenfield EV factory in North America. It is being built with such efficiency and speed. Construction of its first phase will be completed over 12 months after breaking ground.

Outfitted with the world's most advanced production line equipment, the factory will have the initial capacity to produce 10,000 cars annually and over 300,000 annually with planned expansion.

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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."