Ceer EV launch tests Saudi Arabia’s home-grown car bet
Earlier this week, Ceer CEO Jim DeLuca unveiled the Exobot sedan and sports utility vehicle, the first two models in what is intended to be a seven-strong line-up from Saudi Arabia’s first home-grown car maker.
The company aims to localise 45 percent of materials and parts by 2034 and produce up to 240,000 electric vehicles annually.
Ceer’s partners and models
Ceer is a joint venture between the kingdom’s sovereign Public Investment Fund and Taiwanese giant Foxconn, which has 50 percent of the Jeddah-based venture. Hyundai Transys of South Korea is supplying drive systems, while BMW of Germany is a component technology provider.
The Exobot sedan is described as wedge-shaped and gull-winged, and is expected to sprint from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in a little over two seconds.
EVs and competition in Saudi Arabia
Chinese EV and hybrid makers such as BYD and Chery are subsidised and highly efficient. Last year, Chinese brands accounted for 12 percent of new vehicle sales in Saudi Arabia, according to AutoData.
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In the GCC, EVs accounted for 4 percent of vehicle sales in 2024, according to Roland Berger. In the same year, there were more than 11,000 EV sales in Saudi Arabia, more than 10 times the figure in 2023.
EVs are gaining ground in the region despite concerns that batteries perform less well in the harsh Gulf summers and the low penetration of charging stations.
Ceer’s policy test
The kingdom has designated that 30 percent of vehicles in Riyadh be electric by 2030. The PIF-backed Saudi Electricity Company said in 2023 that it planned to install more than 5,000 fast chargers by 2030.
The Saudi government will have to decide what tariff protection, if any, it offers Ceer and its fellow car makers. In 2024, the EU imposed anti-subsidy tariffs on Chinese EVs of up to 45 percent, while the US adds 100 percent.
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