Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih said that talks are in an advanced phase with two car manufacturing companies other than Lucid to produce vehicles in the Kingdom. He said that the details of this will be announced soon.

Al-Falih said this during a dialogue session of a group of ministers on the National Strategy for Industry held on Wednesday. It is noteworthy that Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha said on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia will manufacture and export more than 150,000 electric cars in 2026. The US electric vehicle giant Lucid Motors Company aims to produce 150,000 electric cars annually in Saudi Arabia by 2027, he pointed out.

Al-Falih said that the industrial sector is the only sector that is synonymous with economic progress, stressing that this sector is of great importance, as it reflects the progress of any country.

According to the minister, the investment strategy’s target in terms of fixed capital formation exceeds SR12 trillion, of which the industry’s share is SR1.7 trillion. “There are SR1 trillion worth of industrial investments in the framework of projects in the Kingdom,” he said.

The minister stressed that industry is one of the most capital-intensive sectors, noting that the financing of the sector is facilitated through the Industrial Development Fund, which plays a distinguished role. “We are working to activate a greater role for the banking sector in industrial financing, as we are working with the financial sector program to stimulate financing the sector with very high numbers,” he added.