Saudi Crown Prince unveils CEER's first EXOBOT EVs as seven-model plan begins
CEER has launched its first two electric vehicles, a sedan and an SUV, with production at King Abdullah Economic City due in late 2026 and a 45 percent local-content target for 2034.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who chairs the Public Investment Fund, launched the first two vehicles from CEER on Monday, September 21, moving the Saudi electric vehicle brand from design work and plant construction into commercial production.
The EXOBOT sedan and sport utility vehicle are the opening pair in a seven-model program that CEER plans to roll out over five years. Later entries will include medium-sized and compact cars, along with different powertrain configurations. Every model is slated for CEER's industrial complex inside the King Salman Automotive Cluster at King Abdullah Economic City.
The cars were designed and engineered inside the Kingdom for Saudi and Gulf buyers, with the region's climate, terrain and driving conditions built into the specifications. Both body styles carry a 32-light signature, a reference to 1932, the year Saudi Arabia was unified.
Plant, tooling and automation
The manufacturing complex bundles press, body, paint and general assembly operations, alongside warehouses, logistics infrastructure, water treatment and a dedicated test track. CEER said the site remains on schedule to start building vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Three European suppliers anchor the production line. Dürr is installing a modular paint shop that CEER says will make it easier to add models and offer more customization; its ovens cut heating time by as much as 30 percent against conventional systems. Schuler is providing a fully automated press shop rated at up to 64 components a minute. Siemens is automating the assembly lines and other plant systems.
Building a supplier base
Local content is the harder part of the plan. CEER is targeting 45 percent Saudi-made materials and components by 2034. In February 2026 it signed 16 agreements worth more than SAR3.7 billion, on top of SAR5.5 billion in supplier deals announced a year earlier. The contracts span chemicals, plastics, glazing, body-shop equipment, engineering services and components.
Saudi participants include companies from the Zamil group, Abdul Latif Jameel and APICO. International partners include BMW, Foxconn, Hyundai Transys, Rimac, Siemens, Dürr and Schuler.
In August, the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority signed two agreements with CEER covering the localization of electric sedan and SUV output and the transfer of manufacturing know-how. The authority put the economic impact at roughly SAR9 billion. Vehicles covered by the deals can be added to the Kingdom's mandatory list of national products, which steers government purchasing toward domestically built cars.
Economic targets and headcount
CEER projects a contribution of more than SAR30 billion to Saudi GDP by 2034, an improvement of about SAR79 billion in the trade balance, and roughly 30,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The company was formed in 2022 as a joint venture between the Public Investment Fund and Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn. BMW licenses component technology used in development, and Foxconn supplies the electrical architecture. Isoclima provides the large advanced-glass windshields.
Staffing has climbed from about 20 people after incorporation to roughly 2,300, split between Saudi employees and international automotive specialists. CEER had 1,500 employees by April 2025, representing 45 nationalities at the time, and runs training partnerships with Saudi universities and technical institutes alongside work with the National Automotive and Vehicles Academy.
The nearer commercial lever is procurement. Listing the sedan and SUV as national products would direct state purchasing toward vehicles assembled at King Abdullah Economic City.
