Saudi Arabia’s Homegrown EVs Look Absolutely Bonkers

Even though the peak of the EV gold rush may have come and gone, that hasn’t stopped new entrants from showing up on the scene. Slate is legit, Chinese manufacturers are still spinning off new brands, and now Saudi Arabia is joining the party with something that’s exceptionally out-there. It’s called Ceer Motors, and the brand’s first two EVs look nothing short of insane.

So what’s the backstory on Ceer Motors? Well, it’s partially founded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the same fund that owns a majority stake in Lucid Motors. However, Ceer doesn’t seem to be pulling from Lucid’s box of toys. Instead, it’s a partnership with Foxconn that has a technology licensing agreement with BMW and a supply agreement with Hyundai Transys, with assembly carried out locally. At face value, it’s a bit odd for the PIF not to leverage the Lucid ownership for this venture, but not nearly as odd as the cars themselves turned out to be.

There’s an SUV and a sedan, although “sedan” might be stretching things a bit. They’re both called Exobot, sort-of like how GM called a sedan and a minivan Lumina and Lumina APV, but the name merely raises an eyebrow. The real strangeness here is that each body style features two doors that don’t exactly operate conventionally.

That’s because instead of two separate doors on each side, each Exobot model features one giant door on each side that lifts up gullwing-style. This means there aren’t any B-pillars, which could be great for entry and egress provided the overhanging open doors don’t compromise that in another way. As a mechanism, it’s deeply impractical but rather impressive, yet it merely adds to the outlandish looks of these models instead of dominating the conversation.

The overall design seems to have drawn inspiration from super-flat wedge-shaped concepts of the past, with dramatically raked windscreens that reach beyond the centerlines of the models’ front axles. Combine that with blocky noses, expansive glass on the doors, and sharply cut fenders, and the Ceer Exobot models will certainly be an acquired visual taste. The overall forms are a bit primitive, but there’s definitely a wow factor to certain individual elements.

The interiors are equally outlandish, starting with the sure-to-be-contentious steer-by-wire yoke. A litany of controls, including headlight and wiper operation, sit on the yoke, but there’s still an indicator stalk on the column. Beyond that, the view out looks properly weird. Thanks to the super-flat windscreens, an enormous pillar-to-pillar display seems to take up an enormous amount of vertical height, and it’s augmented by a portrait-style screen closer to the seats. Curiously, Ceer does seem to be doing a better job of implementing actual buttons than some mainstream automakers, although there are still many questions left unanswered here. What does the advanced driver assistance stack actually look like? Does the funky door arrangement actually allow for decent speaker placement? Will the silver-coated glass work as promised to reject heat in the desert?

On the launch models, a 112 kWh battery pack sends juice to three electric motors for a combined output of 850 horsepower. An 800-volt architecture should take advantage of 350 kW DC fast charging stations, and Ceer promises 416 miles of range from the sedan and 348 miles of range on the SUV on the NEDC cycle. Figure zero-to-62 mph in 2.6 seconds for the sedan and 2.9 seconds for the SUV. In a sane world, those numbers would be good enough, but Ceer’s also promising future 1,111-horsepower variants that drop the zero-to-62 mph sprint times down to 2.1 seconds for the sedan and 2.4 seconds for the SUV.

Mind you, there’s reason to be skeptical about all of this, as Foxconn hasn’t had the straightest track record as an automotive partner. How much of Ceer is marketing spectacle versus a viable automaker? Will consumers actually bite on the Saudi Arabian automaker’s wild styling? I guess we’ll just have to see how this plays out.

Top graphic image: Ceer