U.S. electric vehicle maker Lucid Group and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) have opened the Middle East’s first Electric Vehicle Innovation Center in Riyadh, expanding their partnership as the Kingdom seeks to strengthen its role in future mobility and advanced manufacturing.
The new facility will focus on research to improve the efficiency, functionality and performance of Lucid’s electric vehicles, according to the Saudi Press Agency. It is designed to bring together local, regional and international research expertise, supporting both Lucid’s global research and development efforts and Saudi Arabia’s growing electric mobility sector.
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The centre marks the second phase of collaboration between Lucid and KACST. The partnership initially began as a specialised testing and validation facility before being expanded to cover the full electric vehicle development cycle. Lucid said the centre would serve as a core component of Saudi Arabia’s national research and development infrastructure, contributing to the localisation and wider adoption of advanced electric mobility technologies.
“This new innovation centre embodies our ongoing commitment to leading the advancement of electric vehicle technology, and our support toward strengthening Saudi Arabia as a hub for technological innovation,” Lucid interim chief executive Marc Winterhoff said. “By combining Lucid’s engineering expertise with KACST’s advanced research capabilities, we will continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible.”
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KACST said the centre will act as a platform to accelerate the development and industrial application of technologies related to electric vehicles, batteries and smart systems. Senior Vice President for Research and Development Dr Talal bin Ahmed Al-Sedairy said the collaboration would help translate research outcomes into commercially viable technologies. “This cooperation contributes to the transfer and localisation of advanced, high-impact technologies,” he said, adding that it would accelerate “the transformation of knowledge into products and technologies that support the future of sustainable mobility.”
The Riyadh facility is the first in the Middle East dedicated to advanced electric vehicle research and forms part of a broader strategic partnership between the Saudi national laboratory and the Public Investment Fund-backed automaker. It joins Lucid’s expanding footprint in the United States and Saudi Arabia, which includes vehicle manufacturing operations and a recently opened showroom in Al Khobar.
