Lucid Motors plans to expand into one or two new Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries annually in the coming years, the company’s vice president for the Middle East, Faisal Sultan, told Al Arabiya in a new interview.
“We are already in the UAE — we have a retail outlet and a service location,” Sultan said, adding that the company is “rapidly expanding in the UAE” and in Saudi Arabia, which he described as Lucid’s two “core markets” in the region.
“Next year, you will see another two GCC countries coming live with Lucid,” he said, without naming specific markets.
The GCC bloc includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar.
“Those two markets will be our core target for next year,” Sultan added. “And then we’ll continue to do that every year — add one or two more markets.”
The remarks build on earlier statements made by Sultan, who in June said the company was “definitely going” to expand further across the GCC and the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
“We are definitely going to the wider GCC market, MENA market, and the world — some other selected markets where we will export out of Saudi [Arabia],” he said at the time.
Lucid is currently expanding its assembly facility in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), Saudi Arabia, which is set to become a complete build unit (CBU) plant with an annual capacity target of 150,000 vehicles.
From there, the EV maker will export to the Middle East and GCC countries, but also to European and Asian markets — excluding China.
The company reported $7.5 million in revenue from Saudi Arabia and just $314,000 from the UAE in the first quarter of 2025. Figures for the second quarter will be released next week, on August 5.
For the full year of 2024, Lucid generated $191.1 million in revenue from the kingdom. The does not disclose sales figures for any of the countries it is currently selling.
Lucid delivered its first vehicles in the UAE last December, making it the company’s sixth market globally.
In the country, the Lucid Air sedan starts at AED 309,750 ($84,300), including a charging credit and two years of complimentary scheduled maintenance.
The EV maker, which is majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), established its Middle East headquarters in Riyadh late last year.
In the same interview, Sultan said Lucid has a “super high” conversion rate compared to other automakers and that the company’s priority for 2025 is to boost brand awareness and draw more consumers to its products.
The VP said the task is being supported by the upcoming Gravity SUV, which targets a broader addressable market than the Air sedan.
———
Lucid Motors has a significantly higher conversion rate compared to other carmakers, making brand awareness and test drives key factors in attracting buyers, a company vice president said on Tuesday.
In an interview with Alarabiya, the company’s vice president for the Middle East region Faisal Sultan said Lucid’s main focus for this year is to increase brand awareness.
Asked about the goals for 2025, Sultan said, “The biggest thing for Lucid has been brand awareness.”
“And we are doing many things now to make sure the consumer gets into the car,” he added.
On Tuesday, the company announced that it signed a multi-year deal with the Hollywood actor Timothée Chalamet to become its first-ever global brand ambassador.
Timothée Chalamet, who has received multiple major industry awards since his breakout role in 2017’s Call Me by Your Name, will front Lucid’s advertising campaign for the Gravity SUV later this year.
“Because what our experience has been, once the consumer gets into the car, the conversion rate is super high compared to all other OEMs… because the product talks to you — you know — the technology talks to you,” Sultan stated.
This year, the VP of the Middle East region said Lucid is “getting more cars on the road, test drives, Gravities, Airs, more coverage — you know — through media, paid media and influencers, [and] ambassadors.”
In the same interview, Sultan confirmed that Lucid will be launching its midsize platform in late 2026 with plans to be manufactured “within the kingdom” not only for GCC markets but also to other regions outside the Middle East.
“The Saudi government is putting an amazing, amazing focus on getting greener when it comes to [the] transportation sector,” the VP stated. “And [the] Saudi Green Initiative, as you mentioned, aims to have 30% of new car sales, you know, as EVs.”
“So having a plant within the country, not only producing for Saudi, but also producing for the rest of GCC and exporting it outside of GCC is going to, this initiative is definitely going to put the foundation stone for us to have that success, being successful,” Sultan added.
Faisal Sultan, who was recently promoted to President for the Middle East, said earlier this month that deliveries of the brand’s second model, the Gravity SUV, are “just around the corner” for the kingdom.
Lucid began accepting orders in Saudi Arabia for its Gravity SUV in January, with pricing starting at SAR 487,715 ($130,000) for the Grand Touring variant and SAR 416,645 ($111,100) for the Touring trim.
Last week, the brand signed a long-term agreement with Italian tiremaker Pirelli to supply tires for its vehicles in Saudi Arabia.
The tires will be produced locally by a joint venture between Pirelli and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) — Lucid’s largest shareholder.
