RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s investment in electric vehicles reflects how the Kingdom is shaping its future through strategic, long-term bets, according to a senior minister.
Speaking during a panel discussion at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef stated that Saudi Arabia’s push toward EV manufacturing demonstrates the Kingdom’s commitment to shaping a modern and sustainable economy.
His comments come as Saudi Arabia ramps up efforts to position itself as a regional hub for automotive manufacturing, particularly in electric vehicles. Backed by the Public Investment Fund, the Kingdom has invested in ventures such as US-based Lucid Motors, which is building a production facility in King Abdullah Economic City.
As part of its broader diversification drive, Saudi Arabia aims to produce over 300,000 vehicles annually by 2030.
“Betting on EVs is also showing you how we think as a country. We are investing in the future,” he said.
He added: “Automotive is a sector that we have been waiting to attract for many years, that our vision is a great enabler that brought the sector to Saudi. We are the largest country exporting cars with no local manufacturing, and I think it's the right move.”
Alkhorayef emphasized that the Kingdom’s economic transformation under Vision 2030 centers on diversification, with mining and industrial development playing a key role in that shift.
“In our vision — Saudi Vision 2030 — diversification of our economy is key, and definitely mining and industry are both areas where we can see great opportunities,” he said.
Discussing the Kingdom’s execution capabilities, the minister said Saudi Arabia has mastered “the art of execution,” stressing that successful implementation of plans, not just strategy, is what builds investor confidence.
He highlighted mining as a strategic sector, noting that the country has significantly reformed its regulatory framework.
“We have been able to introduce, I would claim, one of the best — if not the best — mining investment laws globally… We have been able to reduce the licensing time from the global average of three to five years to six months,” Alkhorayef said.
Touching on global mineral demand, he said: “We are actually in a race with time to ensure that we have the right quantities of minerals and metals to satisfy the global need in energy transition, in automation, in technology, and in defense.”
The minister pointed to the Future Minerals Forum hosted by the Kingdom as a critical platform to address such challenges, uniting governments, private sector players, and financial institutions to improve exploration, refining, and supply chain resilience.
On supply chains and national resilience, Alkhorayef explained that Saudi Arabia’s localization strategy goes beyond national security.
“It is really capturing a new value. Today in manufacturing, scale is becoming less important because of new technologies that are being introduced,” he said.
Alkhorayef continued: “Today in manufacturing, in mining, and in many of the sectors we intend to build in Saudi, are all built on new technologies. How can we ensure that while we are growing our economy, we are creating the right jobs for our people?”
Addressing the role of governments in enabling private sector growth, Alkhorayef stressed the need for proactive governance.
“Without government really helping the private sector to capture different value, it would be very hard to see the growth in the private sector,” he said, stressing the importance of infrastructure, regulation, and digital security in encouraging investment.
He concluded by highlighting the Kingdom’s export achievements: “Last year is a great demonstration of the growth we have done. 2024 was the record high export of Saudi Arabia. Non-oil export — we grew from 16 percent contribution in non-oil export to 25 percent contribution to our GDP in non-oil export. The non-oil, non-petrochemical growth of exports was 9 percent last year,” he said.
