▪ Construction of Saudi Arabia's first car factory begins

▪ 169,000 Musso & Musso Grand pick-ups and Rexton SUV to be produced over the next 7 years

▪ The move heralds the start of SsangYong CKD production in the Middle East and strengthens its global sales through market diversification

SsangYong Motor Company has announced it has finalised agreement with Saudi National Automobiles Manufacturing Co (SNAM) for the local production of Musso and Musso Grand pick-up trucks as well as Rexton.

The new plant is located at the Jubail industrial complex in Saudi Arabia, where a groundbreaking ceremony was held on 26th January, attended by representatives from both companies including Dr. Fahd S Aldohish, CEO of SNAM, Dr. Ahmad Z. Al-Hussain, CEO of Royal Commission, andofficials from SsangYong Motor Company.

SsangYong Motor and SNAM signed their Product License Agreement (PLA) for the Musso & Musso Grand in July 2019 and the Rexton in October 2020 for the KD business, since when both companies have completed the necessary steps ahead of production leading to the groundbreaking ceremony.

The agreement will see the production of 169,000 units in total; this comprises 90,000 Musso & Musso Grand pick-ups and 79,000 Rexton SUV from KD parts supplied by SsangYong in South Korea.

SNAM has secured a site of approximately 1,000,000㎡in the Jubail industrial complex, and is aiming to start local assembly production for the first stage from 2023. The plan is then to increase annual production to 30,000 units through the construction of a second stage factory.

SsangYong Motor and SNAM are planning further business discussions about future factory construction, production facilities and installation plans, technical support, parts supply and education programs for technicians. Both companies also expect to expand their strategic cooperation by working together on future automotive business in Saudi Arabia.

As the country prepares for its post-oil era through industrial diversification in line with ‘Saudi Vision 2030’, the automotive industry is working towards collaborative business and SNAM is already planning a new automotive plant in-line with national policy.

A spokesperson for SsangYong Motor commented: "The start of construction of this SNAM plant is great news in terms of increasing our export business with Saudi Arabia as well as the whole of the Middle East GCC region while also securing new export bases. This is an exciting breakthrough for SsangYong as we increase our efforts to increase global sales through market diversification."

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