Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil-producing country, sells electric vehicles!? Amazing performance and price

table of contents
●Saudi Arabia exports electric vehicles! Its name is "Lucid Air"
●What is "Lucid Air"?
●Developed by a US electric vehicle manufacturer
●Why do oil-producing countries need to export electric vehicles?

Saudi Arabia exports electric car! Its name is "Lucid Air"

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, aims to export more than 150,000 battery electric vehicles in 2026. But so far, not to mention battery electric vehicles produced in Saudi Arabia, I have never even heard of gasoline vehicles.

It is not difficult to produce electric cars, sales of cars produced in Saudi Arabia is another matter. At present, the first car has a complete prototype. A five-passenger sedan called the "Lucid Air" is currently underway for export.

What is "Lucid Air"?

The body size of "Lucid Air" is overall length 4,975×overall width 1,939×overall height 1,410mm. The overall body size is classified as a mid-size sedan, and its interior space is comparable to that of a large sedan due to the use of a small high-output motor.

The roof retains the structure, and the rest are made of glass, creating a sense of luxury. The four-seater can choose left and right independently adjustable backrest comfortable seats.

The performance of "Lucid Air" is also very good
The highest output is as low as 486PS, and there are specifications of more than 1,200PS available. According to the output of the motor, the cruising distance is 772~836km.

The "Dream edition" is equipped with 19-inch wheels and has 946PS. Its cruising range is 836km and the price is about 25 million yen. The "Pure" that is expected to be produced in the future, the cheapest model has a maximum output of 486PS and a cruising distance of 653km. The price is around 11.5 million yen.

"Lucid Air" has the fastest charging performance in the industry, can charge up to 482km in 22 minutes, and also has its own V2H function.

The prototype car launched in 2016 took only 9.9 seconds from 0 to 400km/h, surpassing the Tesla Model S at that time. It also surpassed Jaguar I-PACE on the Laguna Seca track in the United States.

Developed by US electric vehicle manufacturer

Although Saudi Arabia exports electric vehicles, "Lucid Air" is not a vehicle developed by Saudi Arabia. It was developed by American electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors. "Lucid Air" is only manufactured and exported in a factory in Saudi Arabia.

Lucid Motors, established in 2007, is an electric car manufacturer based in Newark, California. Peter Rawlinson, the chief technology officer, used to be Tesla's vice president and engineer.

Lucid Motors has successfully raised more than US$1 billion from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund on the condition that it builds a factory in Saudi Arabia in 2018 while manufacturing cars based in the United States. It will start setting up a local factory in May 2022, and it is expected to export more than 150,000 electric vehicles from Saudi Arabia in 2026.

Saudi Arabia is pushing for investment in car factories
For a long time, Saudi Arabia has invested in automobile manufacturers from all over the world, and at the same time has carried out investment plans to set up factories in Saudi Arabia. Of course, it has also failed in the process. After the investment promotion plan for the Saudi Arabian factory was launched, the first manufacturer to enter the factory was Lucid motors of the United States.

The real reason for Saudi Arabia to export electric vehicles is to recruit automakers to set up factories, and then export electric vehicles to earn income other than oil production. I heard that Lucid motors is also planning to develop a "Project Gravity" SUV.

Why do oil-producing countries need to export electric vehicles?

Why does Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, start exporting electric vehicles? Oil-producing countries only need to sell oil, why should they sell electric vehicles? Now that the global energy demand is increasing, if Saudi Arabia can increase oil production, it can ease the situation of high oil prices.

On October 5, 2022, OPEC+ reached an agreement to reduce production by 2 million barrels per day from November. Oil prices will rise again as a result. In response to this, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that "the decision to cut production is a judgment based on market conditions."

Petroleum's shift to electric vehicles is also a helpless move...but

Indeed, the world is moving towards zero emissions, and future reliance on fossil fuels will be reduced regardless of demand. Exploitation of oil and maintenance of oilfield equipment require high costs, so it is impossible to increase oil production at will. Coupled with the intensifying civil war in neighboring Yemen and the political instability in Iran, these have brought hidden concerns to the operation of oil extraction facilities.

Therefore, the oil-producing country Saudi Arabia has switched from its previous oil production to the electric vehicle industry of environmentally friendly energy, which can be said to be a normal risk avoidance. But the only thing that is certain is that the global price of oil is high, and it is we, the consumers, who are deeply affected.

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