Rimac power, Foxconn tech, BMW licenses, and an ex-GM CEO. Ceer bought the best parts available, but can it turn them into a real production car?
When Saudi Arabia announced Ceer in late 2022, plenty of people were skeptical. Could a country with basically no history of building cars launch a competitive EV brand out of thin air? We finally have our answer.
Ceer didn’t try to reinvent the wheel. They just paid the best suppliers in the industry to build it for them.
The newly revealed Ceer EXOBOT, which comes as both a full-size SUV and a large sedan, reads like a fantasy parts list:
- Platform and Electronics: Engineered alongside Foxconn, using their fast-growing EV architecture.
- Motors: The rear electric drive unit comes straight from Rimac, marking the Croatian hypercar maker’s first major contract in the Middle East. Paired with front motors from Hyundai Transys, the car pushes out 850 horsepower and hits 0 to 62 mph in 2.6 seconds.
- Battery and Charging: An 800-volt setup with a huge 112 kWh pack, giving it an estimated range of over 400 miles on the NEDC cycle and a 10 to 80 percent charge in 30 minutes.
- Chassis: Full steer-by-wire, rear-wheel steering, and adaptive air suspension.
- Core Tech: Key manufacturing methods and parts licensed directly from BMW.
On paper, the specs are wild. But behind that hardware list is the real question: What kind of car company is Ceer actually trying to be?
The company is run by Jim DeLuca, a 40-year GM veteran who previously guided Vietnam’s VinFast through its rapid launch. Ceer relies heavily on outside help and deep pockets from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which also owns the majority of Lucid.
Putting together an incredible show car with Rimac motors is fun to look at, but mass-producing complex vehicles with gullwing doors and no center pillars is notoriously tough.
Target deliveries have already shifted from 2025 to 2027, and initial sales will stick strictly to the Gulf region.
Ceer says it wants to roll out seven models by 2028, ranging from flagship cruisers to everyday family cars. The money is there, and the supplier list is top-shelf.
The true test over the next couple of years will be watching whether Ceer can stitch all these outside parts into a dependable, glitch-free production car, or if it runs into the exact same production traps that caught so many EV startups before it.