Aston Martin agrees US-Saudi electric car deal

Aston Martin agrees US-Saudi electric car deal
A Lagonda SUV concept car of Aston Martin is displayed during the 18th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2019, in Shanghai, China, 16 April 2019. British luxury car maker Aston Martin Lagonda is today celebrating the global debut of its first all-electric model, the Rapide E, at the world-renowned Auto Shanghai motor show. Alongside the production-ready Rapide E, the hotly-anticipated AM-RB 003 and Lagonda All-Terrain Concept are making their debuts in China after being revealed at the Geneva Motor Show last month. (Photo by Shan he / Imaginechina / Imaginechina via AFP)

LONDON, United Kingdom, June 26 – Aston Martin on Monday announced a deal with US-Saudi electric vehicle specialist Lucid Group to help make the British group’s luxury ‘green’ cars.

California-based Lucid will supply technology, including battery systems, for cash and shares worth about $232 million (213 million euros), Aston said in a statement.

The deal would make Lucid a minority shareholder with a stake of about 3.7 percent.

Saudi became Aston’s second-biggest shareholder last year following a capital injection from its sovereign wealth fund.

The Saudi fund is also the biggest investor in Lucid Group.

Aston plans to offer customers electric options on all its vehicles from 2026, it said Monday.

News of the tie-up, subject to shareholder approval, sent Aston’s stock ten percent higher to 360 pence on the rising London stock market.

Aston Martin, beloved by fictional British spy James Bond, suffered vast losses in 2019 on weak global demand linked to China’s economic slowdown and Brexit.

Losses then accelerated in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

The automaker was saved from bankruptcy in 2020 by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, its biggest investor.

Chinese car giant Geely last month became the third biggest shareholder in Aston Martin after a new cash injection.

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