Saudi PIF invests $1bn in Lucid Motors

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced on Monday said that it has concluded an investment agreement of over $1 billion with Lucid Motors, through a special-purpose vehicle wholly owned by PIF.

Under the terms of the agreement, the parties made binding undertakings to carry out the Transaction subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

The Transaction, part of PIF’s International Investment Strategy, will provide the necessary funding to commercially launch Lucid’s first electric vehicle, the Lucid Air, in 2020. The company plans to use the funding to complete engineering development and testing of the Lucid Air, construct its factory in Arizona, enter production for the Lucid Air to begin the global rollout of the company’s retail strategy starting in North America.

A spokesperson for PIF said: “By investing in the rapidly expanding electric vehicle market, PIF is gaining exposure to long-term growth opportunities, supporting innovation and technological development and driving revenue and sectoral diversification for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

He added that PIF’s international investment strategy aims to strengthen PIF’s performance as an active contributor in the international economy, an investor in the industries of the future and the partner of choice for international investment opportunities. Our investment in Lucid is a strong example of these objectives.

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Lucid’s mission is to inspire the adoption of sustainable energy by creating the most captivating electric vehicles. Lucid and PIF are strongly aligned around the vision to create a global luxury electric car company. Lucid will work closely with PIF to ensure a strategic focus on quickly bringing its products to market at a time of rapid change in the automotive industry.

For his part, Peter Rawlinson, Chief Technology Officer of Lucid, said “the convergence of new technologies is reshaping the automobile, but the benefits have yet to be truly realized. This is inhibiting the pace at which sustainable mobility and energy are adopted. At Lucid, we will demonstrate the full potential of the electric connected vehicle in order to push the industry forward”,

This Transaction also supports the efforts emphasized in Vision 2030 to build a sustainable future economy that is environmentally-friendly. Over the past twelve months, investments have been made by PIF in renewables and utilities, recycling and energy efficiency services companies. PIF is also a member of the One Planet Sovereign Wealth Fund Working Group which published a Framework in July this year to promote the integration of climate change analysis in the management of large, long-term and diversified asset pools