Last week, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund announced the launch of Ceer — an electric vehicle brand developed in collaboration with Taiwan’s Foxconn.
It will be the first Saudi automotive brand to produce electric vehicles (EVs) in Saudi Arabia. Ceer (pronounced seer) will design, manufacture, and sell an assortment of electric sedans and SUVs for consumers in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.
Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) made the announcement, explaining that Ceer is part of the fund’s strategy to diversify Saudi Arabia’s GDP growth. He stated:
Saudi Arabia is not just building a new automotive brand, we are igniting a new industry and an ecosystem that attracts international and local investments, creates job opportunities for local talent, enables the private sector, and contributes to increasing Saudi Arabia’s GDP over the next decade, as part of PIF’s strategy to drive the economic growth in line with Vision 2030.
Interestingly, this new joint venture between PIF and Foxconn will license BMW component technology for its EV development. There are no details on specific components yet, but an earlier Bloomberg report mentioned plans for it to source chassis components from BMW.
Foxconn will spearhead the development of the vehicle’s electrical architecture, which should manifest “a portfolio of products that will lead in the areas of infotainment, connectivity, and autonomous driving technologies.”
There’s no word on the market positioning of Ceer EVs, but Hon Hai Technology Group chairman Young Liu says Foxconn and Ceer want to make mainstream EVs, so they should be on the affordable side of the spectrum. We’ll know better once Ceer announces them.
When will Pakistan launch its own indigenous Automobile company rather than importing parts, and assembling them here? What a shame!
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