PIF to reveal complementary auto projects soon: Official

Logo of Public Investment Fund (PIF)

Muhammad AlShiha, Head of Automotive and Mobility Sector at the Public Investment Fund (PIF), said complementary projects for the automobile industry will be announced soon, mainly the industry of batteries.

The fund has entered into the second phase of the automobile industry, AlShiha told Asharq News, explaining that the current stage aims to attract the industries related to the automobile system, such as tires, glass, and plastics to Saudi Arabia.

The PIF established three factories, Ceer, Lucid and Hyundai, finalizing the first phase of its mega project related to attracting the car manufacturing industry to the Kingdom.

The Kingdom aims to become like other G20 countries. The Saudi market is large and has 800,000 cars annually. Huge demand justifies the auto industry presence in the Kingdom. Further, Saudi Arabia’s regional location and free trade agreements help it drive these exports.

The batteries industry requires metals, for which the world’s countries compete. Therefore, the fund established a company to acquire mines worldwide. This move will help draw car manufacturers to the Kingdom.

The Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund and Pirelli Tyre S.P.A. (Pirelli), a leading global tire manufacturer, announced on Oct. 26, the signing of a joint venture (JV) agreement to build a tire manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia, Argaam reported.