How Saudi Arabia's Sovereign Wealth Fund Became the Deciding Investor for Three Struggling EV Startups

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth vehicle, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has repeatedly acted as the deciding investor for electric vehicle companies that other markets had largely written off, deploying billions to keep projects alive. The most prominent example is Lucid Motors, which the PIF first backed in 2018 with $1.3 billion and has since injected further capital: about $10 billion in total investment to date and an additional $1.5 billion last summer. The fund still owns more than 60% of Lucid. Similar interventions have followed at Ceer Motors, the Foxconn joint venture, and a Hyundai joint venture in Saudi Arabia in which the PIF holds a 70% stake.

"A resounding endorsement," Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson called the $1.5 billion top-up last year — language the company used to characterise a round of funding that many in the market equate with life support.

Three cases, one pattern

The pattern is consistent: when private capital and established industry backers step away, the PIF often steps in. In Lucid’s case the intervention came after a bruising 2018 period in which the company was running out of runway, courting Ford, and embroiled in a stake dispute with Faraday Future’s founder. The PIF’s initial $1.3 billion commitment saved the company from collapse and set a precedent for further capital allocation.

• Lucid Motors: PIF provided $1.3 billion in 2018, has invested roughly $10 billion in total and added $1.5 billion last summer; PIF owns more than 60%.
• Ceer Motors: a domestic Saudi brand launched as a joint venture with Foxconn in late 2022; Reuters reporting cited in Financial News says it was unlikely to have a car on the road before this year and "hasn't shipped a single one yet."
• Hyundai joint venture: PIF owns 70% and the factory is expected, once open, to produce 50,000 vehicles annually.

The on-the-ground picture is mixed. Lucids assembled from Arizona kits are a common sight in Saudi showrooms, but production has lagged: as of late 2024, only about 800 cars had been put back together at the nearby Lucid plant, well short of the kingdom’s declared ambition of producing 500,000 EVs a year by 2030. The Hyundai project’s planned 50,000‑vehicle annual output after its factory opens is far below the capacity Lucid’s facility was designed to reach, underlining a disconnect between capacity and current sales or rollout.

Observers quoted by Financial News say the PIF’s deployments are less about immediate commercial returns and more about securing strategic optionality and sustaining the narrative of a post‑oil economy promoted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The article notes that "it almost doesn't matter if the cars sell" so long as Vision 2030 does not "appear to be a bluff."

Outlook

The immediate future for Lucid, Ceer and the Hyundai venture remains uncertain. PIF’s role is clear: it has repeatedly been willing to be "the last person in the room" when EV companies hit the wall, writing checks that other markets refuse to write. Whether those injections translate into sustainable consumer demand, profitable manufacturing and full production ramps — or merely prolong company lifetimes — will determine whether these interventions are transitional rescues or long‑term market bets that pay off.