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Hyundai Motor recently signed a memorandum of understanding to help improve the vehicle industry in Saudi Arabia. There are also plans to set up its assembly plant for electric vehicles there.
Hyundai Motor and the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Industry agreed to cooperate and set up facilities with the goal of diversifying the kingdom’s economic growth engines. It also wants to reduce dependence on oil for its economy, and the EV business could be its next boom.
The South Korean automaker is also considering having an assembly plant in Saudi Arabia. It will be an exclusive factory for electric vehicles and internal combustion engine cars. If its plans push through, this will be the company’s very first facility in the Middle East.
According to The Korea Economic Daily, officials of the Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and Hyundai Motor were present in the signing ceremony for the MOU for the advancement of automotive production.
The agreement was witnessed by Bandar Al-Khorayef, the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources; Faisal Al-Ibrahim, the Minister of Economy and Planning; Eng. Osamah Al-Zamel, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources; Dr. Ibrahim Al-Mojel, the CEO of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund; and Seon Seob Kim, Hyundai Motor’s executive vice president and head of global operations.
“We have signed an agreement with Hyundai Motor Company to promote automobile production," the ministry of industry said via social media. "This agreement aligns with the objectives of the national industrial strategy to boost local manufacturing capabilities in Saudi Arabia. The deal aims at achieving the national strategic goals to develop local manufacturing capabilities in the country.”
Finally, Korea Post reported that under the contract, Hyundai Motor Company and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia might establish a semi-assembly plant for vehicles. They will import the semi-assembled items from South Korea, and the final assembly will take place in the local assembly plants.
