Car Industry Injects New €1.2 billion investments in Morocco

Morocco continues to steadily expand its car industry fabric, a fact that confirms the country’s leading position in relation to high added-value activities and the confidence it enjoys on the part of international investors.

After the Memorandum of Understanding signed Saturday between Morocco and Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD related to building a production site in Morocco, 26 new investments in the car industry worth more than €1.2 billion were launched Monday in Casablanca at a ceremony chaired by
King Mohammed VI.

The 26 new investment projects introduce new specializations in the country, strengthen local integration and meet the needs that were hitherto met by importation.

Of the 26 investment projects, six are part of the implementation of the Renault Ecosystem, which is developing a global supply platform from the Kingdom.

Thanks to the structuring of this large-scale ecosystem, the French manufacturer is currently supplying Morocco-made machined parts worth one billion euros per year and achieves a local integration rate of 55%.

Thirteen investment projects will be conducted within the framework of the PSA Peugeot Ecosystem, which requires a new development for the entire sector to help in the emergence of an industrial pole of excellence in the city of Kenitra, 40 Km to the North of Rabat.

Five other investments are part of the activities of the Ecosystem “cabling and connectivity”, launched in October 2014 and two investments will go to the Valeo Ecosystem.

These ecosystems have allowed the creation of more than 80,597 jobs and generated in 2016, an export turnover of about $60 million, scoring an increase of 50% compared to 2014.

The development of the car industry in Morocco over the recent past years was made possible, notably thanks to the Industrial Acceleration Plan, launched in April 2014, under the aegis of King Mohammed VI, and to the accompanying measures, particularly in terms of training, for an optimal implementation of this ambitious plan.

The development also attests to the change of the industrial dimension in the country, which is becoming a solid economic model, said Minister of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, during the ceremony.

“The Industrial Acceleration Plan and the ecosystem approach are real leverages for the industrial acceleration,” he added, noting that the 26 investments launched in the automotive industry are introducing new specialties in Morocco and reinforcing local integration.

These new investment projects will create 11,568 direct jobs, Elalamy pointed out, adding that the launch of these investments will enable the production of aluminum wheels, dashboards, bumpers, seats and electromechanical boxes.

The ceremony was marked by the signing of five documents relating to these 26 investment projects.