Morocco is on course to be the most competitive automotive hub, says US magazine “Automotive Industries” in a special issue dedicated to Morocco’s car industry. The Kingdom is leveraging its ready access to the European automotive market with an established and growing automotive base to attract more car makers and suppliers to the country, the publication points out.
Morocco’s auto industry has been undergoing steady growth, and experts predict the country will have the capacity to produce a million cars in the short term, it adds. Morocco was recently labelled as Africa’s leading auto manufacturing hub, ahead of the auto industries of both South Africa and Egypt, the US magazine stressed, noting that the country is also expected to soon outpace Italy in vehicle production.
The Kingdom is Africa’s first passenger car manufacturer. In 2019, The Moroccan automotive industry comprised over 250 companies, creating over 220,000 direct jobs with a local integration rate of 60% and an installed capacity of 700,000 vehicles. All targets set by the Government in partnership with industrialists were surpassed, the source underlines. “Today, the industry is structured into efficient ecosystems including wiring, metal &stamping, battery, vehicle interior and seats parts, powertrain, engine and transmission, covering all the value chain.”
In an interview with the magazine, Ayda Fathi, Business Development Director at the Automotive Industry Moroccan Investment & Export Development Agency, explains that Morocco has invested heavily in the development of world-class infrastructure, including the Tanger Med port in the north of the country. “It is the largest port in Africa and the Mediterranean Sea and connects over 186 ports worldwide. Carmakers and equipment manufacturers based in Morocco export to more than 70 automotive platforms around the world,” she points out.
“Morocco leads the African automotive industry with a production capacity of 700,000 cars a year. Automotive exports totaled approximately $8.5Bn in 2019,” Fathi stresses, noting that automotive is the first exporting sector of Morocco ahead of Phosphates, knowing that Morocco is the largest exporter of Phosphates in the world. “The strategic choices of the Kingdom, thanks to the impetus given by His Majesty the King, May God assist him, such as massive investment in the development of renewable energies, innovation and human capital, allow us to adapt to the global changes in the sector,” Fathi says, adding that this includes the technological transition to electric, hybrid and connected vehicles.
