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KSA lines up tire exports: Saudi Arabia’s Black Arrow Tires (Blatco) and Thailand’s Golden Star Rubber inked an MoU for the supply of rubber to support a USD 470 mn tire manufacturing plant lining up regional exports, according to an Alekhbariya report and a post on X from the Federation of Saudi Chambers (FSC).
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Details: The agreement looks to support plans to establish a USD 470 mn tire plant in Yanbu, which will churn out 4 mn tires for small cars per year in its initial phase. The facility will eventually ramp up to an annual production capacity of 6 mn units, including large tires for buses and trucks, according to Alekhbariya. Some 50% of production is earmarked for local markets, while the rest will be exported to neighboring countries, Blatco officials said.
REMEMBER- Saudi is angling to become a global automotive industry hub: The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has been actively investing in EV makers and the automotive value chain for some time as part of its diversification agenda, including investing multiple times in US-based luxury EV firm Lucid. The fund also launched its own EV maker Ceer in a JV with Taiwan’s Foxconn. Late last year, PIF established a USD 550 mn JV with Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli to establish a Saudi plant with a production capacity of some 3.5 mn tires a year.
