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Saudi Arabia Prepares Infrastructure to Increase Use of Electric Vehicles

The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Company supports economic diversification efforts in Saudi Arabia. (EVIQ)
The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Company supports economic diversification efforts in Saudi Arabia. (EVIQ)
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Saudi Arabia Prepares Infrastructure to Increase Use of Electric Vehicles

The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Company supports economic diversification efforts in Saudi Arabia. (EVIQ)
The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Company supports economic diversification efforts in Saudi Arabia. (EVIQ)

Saudi Arabia is taking rapid steps to enhance the future of the electric car industry towards achieving its national strategy in Vision 2030, by reducing carbon emissions and generating 50 percent of its electrical energy from renewable sources.

The Kingdom recently launched the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Company (EVIQ), the first Saudi brand of electric cars (Ceer), and opened Lucid, the first factory which specializes in the manufacturing of electric vehicles in the Saudi market.

In November 2022, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, announced the launch of Ceer. The company will design, manufacture, and sell a range of electric cars including Aedans and Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV’s) for the Gulf region.

Ceer is expected to attract direct foreign investments worth SAR 562 million (about $150 million) to support the national economy, while its direct contribution to the gross domestic product will amount to SAR 30 billion ($8 billion). The company will also provide 30,000 jobs by 2034.

In September 2023, Lucid, the electric car manufacturing company, inaugurated its first and advanced international factory, “AMP-2”, in King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh Governorate (western Saudi Arabia).

The factory will begin producing approximately 5,000 vehicles to gradually reach around 150,000. It is expected to play a fundamental role in accelerating the achievement of the strategic goal of diversifying the Kingdom’s economy.

In October, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Saudi Electricity Company announced the launch of the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Company (EVIQ).

CEO of EVIQ Mohammed Qazzaz told Asharq Al-Awsat that the company was working to build a wide national network of fast charging stations around the Kingdom, with the goal of reaching more than 5,000 chargers across more than 1,000 stations by 2030.

Qazzaz stated that the role of EVIQ was to empower the sector by starting the process of developing infrastructure and accelerating the pace of demand for electric cars.

He added that the company was established with the aim of supporting and accelerating the growth of the electric vehicle sector by working on developing the infrastructure and establishing a wide network of fast chargers throughout Saudi Arabia.

Automobile expert Majid Al-Sheikhi confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the government was working to prepare the infrastructure to increase the number of electric vehicles on Saudi roads in line with the Kingdom’s goals to reduce carbon emissions.

He added that EVIQ’s goals focused on increasing sales of electric vehicles and contributing to developing and enabling the necessary infrastructure.

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ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
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ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde renewed her call for economic integration across Europe on Friday, arguing that intensifying global trade tensions and a growing technology gap with the United States create fresh urgency for action.
US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to impose tariffs on most if not all imports and said Europe would pay a heavy price for having run a large trade surplus with the US for decades.
"The geopolitical environment has also become less favorable, with growing threats to free trade from all corners of the world," Lagarde said in a speech, without directly referring to Trump.
"The urgency to integrate our capital markets has risen."
While Europe has made some progress, EU members tend to water down most proposals to protect vested national interests to the detriment of the bloc as a whole, Reuters quoted Lagarde as saying.
But this is taking hundreds of billions if not trillions of euros out of the economy as households are holding 11.5 trillion euros in cash and deposits, and much of this is not making its way to the firms that need the funding.
"If EU households were to align their deposit-to-financial assets ratio with that of US households, a stock of up to 8 trillion euros could be redirected into long-term, market-based investments – or a flow of around 350 billion euros annually," Lagarde said.
When the cash actually enters the capital market, it often stays within national borders or leaves for the US in hope of better returns, Lagarde added.
Europe therefore needs to reduce the cost of investing in capital markets and must make the regulatory regime easier for cash to flow to places where it is needed the most.
A solution might be to create an EU-wide regulatory regime on top of the 27 national rules and certain issuers could then opt into this framework.
"To bypass the cumbersome process of regulatory harmonization, we could envisage a 28th regime for issuers of securities," Lagarde said. "They would benefit from a unified corporate and securities law, facilitating cross-border placement, holding and settlement."
Still, that would not solve the problem that few innovative companies set up shop in Europe, partly due to the lack of funding. So Europe must make it easier for investment to flow into venture capital and for banks to fund startups, she said.