Lucid Accelerates Saudi Greenfield Plant to Anchor Global EV Scale-Up

Lucid Motors is advancing beyond initial kit assembly in Saudi Arabia toward a complete manufacturing operation intended to underpin the company’s next growth phase. The facility at King Abdullah Economic City, opened for partial assembly in 2023, is being reconfigured to handle end-to-end production and to serve as the main manufacturing home for a new, more affordable midsize crossover. Executives are integrating sophisticated production software and digital twin capabilities through partnerships to fast-track quality control, traceability, and planning as the plant shifts from reassembly to a full-build posture. The strategy pairs those digital layers with deliberate human training programs; leadership emphasizes that skilled personnel remain essential to solve real-time manufacturing challenges and to drive continuous improvement. Lucid confirmed a working prototype of the midsize vehicle priced around $50,000 and expects that model to unlock significant institutional demand, including a prospective 50,000-unit government allocation. Management has scheduled an Investor Day for March 12, 2026 to provide a fuller technical and commercial preview of the new platform. Operationally, the site began with modest throughput — roughly 5,000 vehicles per year while assembling semi-knocked-down kits — and is planning a steep capacity ramp with a 2029 target of 150,000 vehicles annually across the Saudi complex. The company aims to begin full-scale production in 2026 with a staged ramp through 2027–2028, while leveraging local content rules and regional logistics to reduce component import friction for exports to Europe, Asia and neighboring markets. This Saudi build serves both industrial policy objectives for the host country and Lucid’s ambition to diversify its production footprint beyond Arizona, where the firm retains its primary engineering and launch operations. Early commercial performance provides mixed signals: Lucid reports total cumulative sales above 30,000 units since launch, with about 10,241 deliveries in 2024 and roughly 15,841 units registered in the most recent annual tally, reflecting rising Gravity SUV volumes alongside the Air sedan. If the Saudi plant reaches full design intent, it will test whether a digitally orchestrated, human-centered greenfield plant outside traditional auto clusters can scale profitably and supply multiple global markets. The coming months, especially the March investor presentation and the initial production milestones in 2026, will be critical inflection points for validating the economics, supply-chain localization, and export capability of this model.