Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Olayan and Canoo sign deal for electric vehicles in Saudi

By Shane McGinley
Canoo EV Canoo
US EV startup Canoo has forged a deal with Saudi Arabia's Olayan Group
  • US brand Canoo is latest EV maker to enter Saudi market
  • Lucid and Ceer also part of kingdom’s drive to cut hydrocarbons

Saudi Arabian general contracting company GCC Olayan has signed a deal with US electric vehicles maker Canoo for the sale, service and distribution in the kingdom of its EVs.

Part of Saudi conglomerate The Olayan Group, GCC Olayan said the partnership was the first step in plans to expand beyond the initial dealership agreement, with the possibility of developing full scale manufacturing in the kingdom in the future.

Canoo and GCC Olayan will also work to develop a joint venture to launch a digital vehicle ecosystem for service maintenance repair, local assembly and eventually manufacturing, said a press statement.

“We recognise there is growing demand for sustainable mobility solutions in Saudi Arabia, partly driven by the launch of the Saudi Green Initiative and its pledge to achieve net zero by 2060,” Uwaidh K. Al-Harethi, CEO of Olayan Saudi Holding Company, said.

Founded in 2017 and based in Texas, Canoo is the latest EV operator to expand into Saudi Arabia, as the government looks to diversify beyond hydrocarbons.

The Saudi Ministry of Energy in August launched regulations for the rollout of EV charging stations, looking at the various legislative, organisational and technical aspects.

Saudi EVs
GCC Olayan and Canoo signs deal to roll out EVs in Saudi Arabia

In May, Saudi Arabia’s minister of investment Khalid Al-Falih announced that US-based Lucid Group would build the first of at least three EV manufacturing plants in the kingdom.

Lucid Group, which is 60 percent owned by Saudi sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund (PIF), said its EV production will have an annual capacity of 155,000 vehicles and help create 4,500 new jobs.

PIF also announced in November an agreement with Taiwan’s Foxconn to manufacture EVs in the kingdom under the brand name Ceer. Reuters reported that PIF hopes Ceer cars will hit the kingdom’s roads in 2025.

“We want to make electric vehicles mainstream, and that is what Ceer is going to achieve in Saudi Arabia and the wider region,” Foxconn chairman Young Liu was quoted as saying.

Register now: It’s easy and free

AGBI registered members can access even more of our unique analysis and perspective on business and economics in the Middle East.

Why sign uP

  • Exclusive weekly email from our editor-in-chief
  • Personalised weekly emails for your preferred industry sectors
  • Read and download our insight packed white papers
  • Access to our mobile app
  • Prioritised access to live events
Register for free

I’ll register later

Latest articles

Opec+ has already agreed to increase oil output by 411,000 barrels per day in May

Opec+ to consider further oil output increase for June

Several Opec+ members are to suggest the group accelerates oil output hikes in June for a second consecutive month, as a dispute worsens between members over compliance with production quotas. Oil prices hit a four-year low in April, dragged down by a US-China trade war and an unexpected decision by Opec+ to increase output by 411,000 barrels per day […]

Shoppers in Tripoli, northern Lebanon. Rising food prices contributed to a small inflation increase in March

Lebanon inflation falls to 14% as exchange rate stabilises

Lebanon’s annual inflation rate fell to 14 percent in March, from 70 percent in the same month last year, according to news reports. The primary cause of the drop is the stabilisation of the country’s exchange rate, Arab News reported, citing data from the Central Administration of Statistics in Beirut. The rate has stood at […]

Morocco’s energy minister Leila Benali said the pipeline project has "made considerable progress" and is in the execution stage

Morocco and Nigeria agree terms for $25bn gas pipeline

Morocco and Nigeria have agreed to create a joint venture to manage a long-planned $25 billion pipeline which will ship gas to Europe, a Moroccan minister has said. Leila Benali, minister of energy transition and sustainable development, told Morocco’s parliament that a floating gas storage terminal would also be installed at Nador on the Mediterranean […]

The latest payment brings DAE's total insurance recovery to $601m

Dubai jet leaser wins $282m settlement in Russian case

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), the Middle East’s largest aviation leasing company, has received a $282 million cash settlement from unnamed insurers for aircraft leased to Russian Federation carriers. This latest payment brings DAE’s total insurance recovery to $601 million.  With this settlement DAE and its partners have resolved all claims against the involved insurance and […]

IMF Syria new chief Van Rooden is currently mission chief for Ukraine and an assistant director in the IMF's European Department

IMF appoints first mission chief to Syria in 14 years

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has appointed Ron van Rooden as head of its mission to Syria, the first country mission chief since war erupted there 14 years ago. Syria’s finance minister Mohammed Yosr Bernieh said in a written statement, that van Rooden’s appointment came “following our request”. “This important appointment marks an important step […]

RAK sets out $272m plan for ‘our version of Central Park’

Ras Al Khaimah is preparing an AED1 billion ($272 million) mixed-use masterplan to link two of its most prominent waterfront developments – Al Hamra and Al Marjan Island. The project is being led by Marjan, the master developer of freehold properties in the northern emirate, and will have its official launch later this year. “What […]

FORMULA 1 STC SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX 2023

Saudi ticketing app webook plans European expansion

Riyadh-based Webook, which describes itself as Saudi Arabia’s largest booking platform for events and experiences, says it is expanding beyond the Middle East into Europe to tap a growing market for ticketing. Set up in 2016 under the name Hala Yalla, Webook initially focussed as a service to book football pitches, before expanding to include […]

Street vendors in the historic Balad district of Jeddah. Falling oil prices have hit the Saudi economy

Saudi Arabia’s debt burden ‘to rise more quickly’, says IMF

The International Monetary Fund has revised its forecast for Saudi Arabia’s debt burden as tumbling oil prices dent the country’s revenues. The IMF is now projecting that Saudi government gross debt will be 44.5 percent of GDP by 2029, according to the twice-yearly Fiscal Monitor released in Washington DC on Wednesday.  In last October’s report, […]

alalah Port, Oman. Oman's hydrocarbon exports jumped by $6.5 billion in 2024, primarily due to the explosive growth in refined product sales from the Duqm Refinery

Duqm refinery fuels $6.5bn growth in Oman’s oil exports

Oman’s hydrocarbon exports swelled by nearly $6.5 billion last year due to a surge in sales of refined products following the commissioning of the sultanate’s largest oil refinery. The Gulf country’s hydrocarbon exports surged from OR13.8 billion ($35.8 billion) in 2023 by nearly 18 percent to OR16.3 billion ($42.4 billion) in 2024. Crude exports edged […]

A Russian oil rig in the Caspian Sea. India's increasing reliance on cheaper Russian oil erodes the dominance of traditional Middle Eastern suppliers like Saudi Arabia and Iraq

Gulf share of India oil market slides on Russia gains

India’s pivot toward discounted Russian crude oil has accelerated, eroding the dominance of traditional Middle Eastern suppliers in one of the world’s fastest-growing oil markets. In the Indian fiscal year ending March 31, Russia retained its position as India’s top oil supplier for a third year in row, Reuters reported, based on ship tracking data […]

Industrial shipping Maersk container shipping at Salalah Oman Middle east

Oman’s free zones attracted $4bn in investments last year

Private businesses invested OR1.6 billion ($4.1 billion) in Oman’s free zones, economic zones and industrial cities last year, highlighting the sultanate’s growing appeal as a regional business hub. The sultanate signed a total of 325 investment agreements across six major jurisdictions, Oman Daily Observer, a local news outlet, reported, citing a report by Duqm Economist […]

Customers use Al Rajhi cash dispensers at a branch in Mecca. The bank's total assets have topped SAR1 trillion

Al Rajhi Bank reports 34% rise in quarterly profit

Al Rajhi Bank, the world’s largest Islamic bank by capital, has reported a 34 percent increase in net profit for the first quarter of 2025, to SAR5.9 billion ($1.5 billion). The Saudi bank’s total assets have risen by 22 percent to SAR1.02 trillion, marking the first time Al Rajhi has surpassed the trillion-riyal mark. Its […]