CEER EXOBOT Gives Saudi Arabia Its First Homegrown Electric Sedan and SUV

Saudi Arabia’s first domestic car brand showed its opening pair of production vehicles this weeks, at the new CEER Manufacturing Complex in King Abdullah Economic City. CEER is a joint venture between the Public Investment Fund and Foxconn, and the EXOBOT collection starts with a long, low sedan and a slightly shorter SUV that share one electric platform, the same 112 kWh battery, and the same 800 volt electrical layout. Five more models are planned by 2030, some smaller and some with other power sources, but these two flagships are the ones the company is putting on the road first.

The cars have a sharp wedge profile, with the nose thrust forward so near to the tarmac and the cabin rising up toward the back. Rob Melville, a McLaren veteran, designed them with a 2.4-meter windshield tilted back at a 15-degree angle, thin light bars made of 32 vertical elements to commemorate Saudi unification year, and forged aluminum wheels with triangular cutouts inspired by traditional Lahej architecture. Lower door glass is reversible, allowing it to shift from tinted to opaque, and then there are the distinctive doors, known as Shahin Wing Doors. They’re nearly three meters long, swing up in a 60-centimeter arc, and leave you with a pillarless entrance that looks more like a concept car than a production vehicle.

The sedan measures 5.26 meters long, 2.1 meters wide, and 1.43 meters tall. The SUV is 5.02 meters long and the same width, but it stands 1.69 meters taller since it has more than 11 inches of ground clearance. Both automobiles have a wheelbase of 3.2 meters. The First Edition models have a tri-motor all-wheel-drive system that produces 850 horsepower and 1,000 Nm. That sedan will accelerate to 100 km/h in 2.6 seconds and can reportedly travel up to 670 km on a single charge utilizing the NEDC cycle. The matching SUV takes somewhat longer to reach 100, but still does it in 2.9 seconds, despite having a slightly lower stated range of up to 560 kilometers. If you upgrade to additional power, you’ll receive 1,111 horsepower and 1,500 Nm, which reduces the time to 2.1 seconds for the sedan and 2.4 seconds for the SUV, with top speeds of 250 km/h and 210 km/h. Oh, and charging from 10% to 80% will take less than 30 minutes, with a peak rate of approximately 250 kW.

Heat is something they take extremely seriously, because it is not an afterthought, but a priority. They claim that their Halo Cooling technology can reduce cabin temperature from a blistering 65 C to a considerably more comfortable 32 C in just ten minutes. They’re also installing special foils, quadruple silver-coated glass, dual air conditioning units, and an aerodynamic roof to keep the heat out. All of this is part of a package that includes Rimac electric drive hardware, seven airbags, an aluminum space frame, and cell-to-pack batteries (which allow for additional interior space). Hyundai Transys plans to start supplying integrated drive units in 2027, and the business has even licensed some BMW component technology.

Inside the cabin, the major feature is a giant 48-inch curved 8K display that runs from pillar to pillar, a 10.4-inch center control panel, and an 8-inch screen for the passengers in the back. Steering is accomplished via a yoke, with steer-by-wire technology reducing lock-to-lock travel from 400 degrees to a considerably more manageable 160 degrees. There is also rear-wheel steering and adaptive air suspension. The voice assistant supports Arabic and English, and the sound system is rather wild, with exciters for 360-degree playback. You can choose from three factory-fitted scents to set the mood, and there are over-the-air upgrades, which allow you to add features later without having to return to the dealer. Standard highway aid technology includes hands-free driving, automated lane changes, and point-to-point navigation. To top it off, there’s a companion app that allows you to monitor charge status, interior temperature, and even remotely park your car.

Production will remain inside the local confines of the King Abdullah Economic City plant, as CEER envisions their major automotive manufacturing in the Middle East. Localization targets are scheduled to rise to 45 percent of local content by 2034, after which they promise orders would be fulfilled and delivered within weeks. The first deliveries are scheduled for 2027, after which they will be distributed throughout Saudi Arabia and the surrounding markets. The First Edition vehicles have a really neat collection of standard luxuries, including red and black Nappa leather, some great trimming, and a numbered plaque that’s a reproduction of the VIN, just to add that bit of exclusivity. As for the pricing, well, let’s just say that they’re keeping that under wraps for now. For a country that has never made its own passenger automobiles, this is an audacious first effort: it is long, wide, fast, and designed to survive the local climate, which is where it will be used the most in the real world.
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