Saudi-backed Lucid in EV deal with UK’s Aston Martin

Saudi Arabia-backed Lucid Group has signed a deal with British luxury carmaker Aston Martin to produce high-performance electric vehicles (EVs) from 2025.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF), one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, owns a 65 percent stake in the US-based EV manufacturer.

As part of the agreement, Lucid will supply Aston Martin with components for the manufacturing of battery-electric vehicle (BEV) models.

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Under the terms of the proposed deal, the British carmaker will issue nearly 28.4 million new ordinary shares and make phased cash payments to Lucid of $232 million. Thus, Lucid will own a 3.7 percent stake in the London-listed carmaker.

Aston Martin announced in June last year a capital raising drive which saw PIF become its second-largest shareholder with an almost 17 percent stake.

Mercedes-Benz holds a 9.4 percent stake in Aston Martin as part of a long-term deal, which includes technology sharing and representation on the British carmaker’s board.

The German automaker will continue to provide Aston Martin with access to various technologies for current and future generation vehicles.

Lawrence Stroll, executive chairman of Aston Martin, said: “The supply agreement with Lucid is a game changer for the future EV-led growth of Aston Martin.”

Aston Martin will deliver Valhalla, its first plug-in hybrid supercar, in 2024 and by 2026 all new Aston Martin model lines will feature an electrified powertrain option, with the long-term objective for its core range to be fully electrified by 2030.

In May Nasdaq-listed Lucid reported losses widened by 29 percent to $779.5 million in the first quarter of 2023 despite the Saudi government extending $2.4 billion in funding last year.

In 2022 Lucid entered into a $1.4 billion loan agreement with the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF), a related party of PIF, along with a new five-year senior secured $1 billion asset-based revolving credit facility.

Lucid’s Q1 2023 report showed that the loans would be used to finance costs related to the development and construction of a planned second manufacturing plant, which is under construction in Saudi Arabia. 

When completed, the plant will have the capacity to build 155,000 vehicles per year.