350,000 vehicles to be manufactured in Saudi by 2030: Official

Saleh Al-Sulami, CEO of the National Industrial Development Center (NIDC)

Saleh Al-Sulami, CEO of the National Industrial Development Center (NIDC), stated that the automotive industry in Saudi Arabia is highly promising, with expected investments in related industries estimated at around SAR 90 billion.

Saudi Arabia is among the world’s largest importers of cars, with imports reaching 830,000 vehicles annually, but it currently lacks local manufacturing, the top official said, in an interview with CNBC Arabia.

“We have embarked on an ambitious plan to produce vehicles in the Kingdom through three automotive companies: Lucid, Hyundai, and Ceer. We expect production to exceed 350,000 cars — both electric and internal combustion — by 2030,” he continued.

Al-Sulami also noted that some companies have already started gradual production in the Kingdom, such as Lucid, followed by Ceer in Q4 2026, and Hyundai, which will begin production in 2027.

He stressed that the Kingdom’s goal is not limited to manufacturing the final product but also includes production inputs where it has strong competitive advantages, saying that the sector will help develop new products such as rubber and car tires, with a large tire factory currently under construction in Saudi Arabia.

According to Argaam’s data, Saudi Arabia has made strong strides in the automotive industry over the recent years. In November 2022, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched Ceer, the Kingdom’s first Saudi electric vehicle brand, which plans to launch its first cars in Q4 2026.

Lucid Motors, partially owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), inaugurated, in September 2023, its cars manufacturing unit, AMO-2, the company's first international factory in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), Jeddah. It targets exporting nearly 92% of its production to overseas markets, with 13% to be allocated for GCC countries.

In May, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Middle East (HMMME) broke ground on its new factory in Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Automotive Cluster within King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC).