EV startup Enovate to build vehicles in Saudi Arabia

Enovate Motors, a Chinese electric-vehicle startup, said it signed an agreement with a local company to establish a $500 million production joint venture in Saudi Arabia. 

The deal with Sumou Holding, finalized last week, will make Enovate the first Chinese brand to produce electric vehicles in Saudi Arabia, the EV startup said this week.

The joint venture, which will operate its own R&D facility, will have annual production capacity of 100,000 EVs, according to Enovate.

The company said it is in talks with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign fund and the country’s state-owned oil producer Aramco on strategies to raise capital for the joint venture.

Enovate didn’t disclose additional information on the deal or its Saudi partner Sumou Holding.

Enovate, incorporated in 2017, runs plants in the east China city of Shaoxing and the central China city of Changsha, according to the company’s website.

Since 2020, the automaker has rolled out two electric crossovers, the ME5 and ME7, in China.