On September 21, 2026, Saudi electric vehicle company Ceer officially unveiled its first two pure electric vehicles - Exobot sedan and SUV, with plans to launch in early 2027. Ceer stated that between 2028 and 2030, they plan to launch 5 new models targeting mainstream markets and gradually enter neighboring countries as well as the entire Middle East and North Africa market. Many people's first reaction may be that Saudi Arabia is also going to build new energy vehicles. But what is truly worth seeing is not those two cars, but the supply chain behind them. Ceer was established in collaboration between Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF and Foxconn, with Foxconn participating in the vehicle electronic and electrical architecture and BMW providing engineering support. Meanwhile, a group of automotive parts companies including Lear from the United States, Shin Young from South Korea, Benteler from Germany, and Chinese suppliers are setting up factories in Saudi Arabia. This means that what Saudi Arabia really wants to do is not buy a car company, but create an automotive industry cluster.

From selling oil to making cars

The way Saudi Arabia used to make money was simple: there was oil underground, it was dug up, loaded onto ships, and sold. But the automotive industry is completely different. Behind a car are batteries, motors, electronic controls, wiring harnesses, seats, glass, paint, plastic parts, molds, die-casting parts, robots, factory automation, warehousing, and after-sales service, which may affect hundreds or even thousands of suppliers. So the true value of Saudi car manufacturing is not necessarily how many cars Ceer can sell in the future, but rather that in order to build these cars, Saudi Arabia will be forced to establish a complete modern manufacturing system. This is where the 2030 vision is truly worth studying. It is not simply reducing the proportion of oil revenue, but using the money earned from oil to purchase time, technology, talent, and supply chains, and then keeping these things in Saudi Arabia.

Opportunities in the second and third level supply chains

What does it mean for Chinese companies? In the next few years, if Saudi Arabia's automotive industry really expands, Chinese companies will not only face opportunities in whole vehicle exports, but even greater opportunities may be hidden in the secondary and tertiary supply chains. For example, automotive coatings, industrial coatings, plastic parts, packaging, molds, equipment, robots, testing instruments, parts processing, warehousing and logistics, and factory EPC. One of the biggest advantages of China's new energy vehicle industry is not only brands like BYD and Geely, but also the fact that China has formed a rare, complete, and inexpensive automotive supply chain in the world. And Saudi Arabia precisely lacks this. Keywords: Middle East News Network, pure electric vehicles, modernization

A new combination of capital and manufacturing

So a very interesting business model may emerge in the future: Saudi Arabia will provide capital and markets, while Chinese companies will provide supply chain and manufacturing capabilities. This may be more noteworthy than simply selling cars to Saudi Arabia. From the debut of Ceer's first models to the planning of five new models, from Foxconn's electronic and electrical architecture to BMW's engineering support, from Lear, Shin Young, Benteler to Chinese suppliers' factory layout, Saudi Arabia is leveraging oil capital to drive a complete automotive industry ecosystem. For paint, mold, equipment, robots, parts processing, and warehousing logistics enterprises in China's new energy vehicle industry chain, Saudi car manufacturing not only brings orders, but also a strategic window embedded in the Middle East manufacturing system.Editor/Gao Xue