U.S. electrical automobile maker Lucid Group will arrange its first abroad manufacturing unit in Saudi Arabia, the corporate has introduced.

The manufacturing facility will have the ability to produce 155,000 automobiles a yr, and can initially serve the native market, the posh automotive maker stated in a press launch Wednesday. The automobiles will later be exported to world markets.

Lucid’s manufacturing unit in Arizona can produce 350,000 items a yr.

“Meaning we are able to speed up plans to provide half 1,000,000 automobiles a yr from what was going to be 2030, to mid decade,” CEO Peter Rawlinson informed CNBC’s Hadley Gamble. “And that is actually necessary as a result of the planet cannot wait.”

The continued power disaster “actually simply fuels the transition to battery electrical automobiles,” stated Rawlinson.

“The demand is now multiplying,” he stated.

Saudi Arabia’s minister of funding, Khalid al-Falih, stated the Lucid manufacturing unit is just the start.

“I consider it unleashes the entire trade of electrical automobiles right here within the kingdom, our intent is to not cease with Lucid,” he informed CNBC’s Hadley Gamble.

“We’ve different EV producers which can be in superior discussions with us that may observe within the footsteps of Lucid,” he added.

Saudi Arabia additionally needs EV battery corporations, suppliers and extra to arrange store within the nation, which may create 30,000 jobs, he stated.

“We consider, like I stated, that it is a catalytic funding determination … it is a magnet that may entice lots of different traders,” al-Falih stated.

Lucid’s Rawlinson stated the corporate would wish to produce greater than electrical automobiles in Saudi Arabia, and pointed to power storage methods that may very well be linked to photo voltaic photovoltaic farms.

“This know-how is right for this a part of the world,” he stated. “As a result of bear in mind, when the oil runs out, the solar will preserve shining.”

As of 2021, Saudi Arabia was the world’s second largest producer of oil, in response to the U.S. Vitality Data Administration. It additionally has 297.5 billion barrels in oil reserves, second solely to Venezuela, a World Inhabitants Overview rating stated.

The dominion’s state oil firm, Aramco, noticed its web revenue spike 82% to $39.5 billion within the first quarter of 2022.

Al-Falih stated the world nonetheless must put money into each fossil fuels and renewables to make the power transition as clean as attainable.

He stated Saudi Arabia is dedicated to its shift from conventional fuels to cleaner power, citing the dominion’s inexperienced initiatives.

— CNBC’s Dan Murphy contributed to this report.