Saudi Arabia will reportedly start producing its first car, the Gazal-1.The Gazal-1 first appeared as a concept at the Geneva Motor Show in March and now King Abduullah himself has given the go-ahead for what will become Saudi Arabia’s first home-built car.The concept was designed by students in King Saud University’s automotive engineering program and built around a Mercedes-Benz G-Class.
According to estimates, the project needs a US$500 million investment in order to get off the gound.
“Contacts are ongoing with Saudi investors for the mass production of the Gazal-1,” Abderrahman al-Ahmari, a project official, told the Association for Financial Professionals.
It is hoped the car will be in production within two to three years, at numbers around 20,000 units per year.