Riyadh, May 19, 2022, SPA -- Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and Chairman of Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) Bandar Al-Khorayef stressed that the car industry file in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is among important files that the national strategy for industry has considered due to the fact it is among the complicated industries that contribute to developing the supply chains for several products, noting that the country targets to manufacture more than 300,000 cars annually by 2030. Al-Khorayef, during a ceremony to lay the foundation stone of Lucid Motors at the King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh, noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia targets manufacturing cars to cover the local demand and export to the world, stressing that the volume of expenditure on cars in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2020 reached around SAR 40 billion, while the volume of the Saudi market exceeded more than 500,000 cars annually, which represents 50% of the Gulf market, pointing out that SIDF has offered a funding to establish Lucid factory with a value reaching more than SAR 5 billion. He said that establishing a new manufacturing facility for Lucid in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in line with Saudi Arabia’s plans aiming at diversifying the economic base, especially developing the industrial sector as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 and National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP). The minister stressed that Lucid’s choosing of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a headquarters for its first factories in the Middle East, which seeks to export more than 85% of its products, highlights the competitiveness of Saudi Arabia and its ability to utilize its potential, such as the distinguished geographical location, ability to connect with several regional and international markets and access to them, the good infrastructure, and quality of services, adding: “We are looking forward to working with the company and other pioneering companies, and at the same time, keep building out global expertise”, counting on the qualitative advantages that Saudi Arabia enjoys, starting from qualitative capabilities in the industrial sector, the ideal infrastructure for several industries, the availability of mineral resources, in addition to having qualified human personnel. --SPA 13:52 LOCAL TIME 10:52 GMT 0012 www.spa.gov.sa/w1734517