Hyundai Motor Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation in future mobility with Red Sea Global (RSG), a leading developer of the Red Sea and western coastal areas, in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on March 24 (local time).
The Red Sea coastal development project is one of the Giga Projects under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the vision of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. The Giga Projects include Neom City (a futuristic new city), Red Sea and West Coast Development (a luxury resort), Kiddiya (an entertainment complex), Roshin (housing development), and Diriyah (historic site development).
RSG is promoting the development of a luxury resort and an eco-tourism complex. Hyundai Motor Group plans to demonstrate electric and hydrogen vehicles and introduce future mobility solutions such as advanced air mobility (AAM) and autonomous driving to the entire Red Sea development complex.
In the first half of this year, Hyundai Motor will break ground for a 50,000-vehicle-per-year complete knock down (CKD) plant in Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Economic City. The plant is scheduled to be completed in 2026. The Korean automaker expects the plant to become the center of electric vehicle production in the Middle East. Hyundai is also pursuing a project to supply hydrogen buses to the Middle East kingdom.
Saudi Arabia is the largest automobile sales market in the Middle East with about 550,000 vehicles sold annually. Market research firm Fitch Solutions predicts that the Saudi Arabian car market will reach 750,000 units by 2032.
Currently, Toyota is the No. 1 automaker in Saudi Arabia with a market share of about 30 percent. Hyundai ranks second. Hyundai and Kia have a combined share of just over 20 percent. The Korean automakers are eyeing the Middle East market to grow to 3 million units around 2030, including Saudi Arabia. They plan to sell a total of 550,000 units in the entire Middle East market by 2030.
Toyota, meanwhile, had previously discussed establishing an automobile plant with the Saudi Arabian side in 2017, but did not follow through. In 2022, the Saudi Arabian government established a joint venture called “Ceer” with Taiwan’s Foxconn to produce 180,000 electric vehicles per year. In 2023 it also made a capital participation in Renault Group’s internal combustion vehicle business.