EBRD Lends €16 Mln to Varroc Lighting Systems Morocco

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced Friday a €16 million loan to Varroc Lighting Systems Morocco, the Moroccan subsidiary of the Indian motor industry’s lighting systems giant, Varroc Engineering Pvt Ltd.

The loan will allow Varroc Engineering to supply the Tangier Renault factory and the Peugeot PSA plant in Kenitra, as well as to set up a research and development center.

In addition, one hundred jobs, including engineering posts will be created between 2018 and 2024, and several hundred young people will be trained, says a press release issued by EBRD.

Varroc Engineering is a major player in the automotive lighting systems industry and mainly targets emerging markets. It posted a turnover of €1.3 billion for 2017, and has offices in 12 countries, a workforce of 13,500 and 36 first-class production centers.

The automotive industry is growing rapidly in Morocco wherein the government is expecting the sector to create 90,000 jobs by 2020 in addition to the 100,000 that already exist.

French automaker Renault operates two vehicle assembly plants in Morocco, in Casablanca and in Tangier.

For its part, its rival, PSA Group will begin building cars near the Moroccan coastal city of Kenitra in 2019. The group says it will produce 200,000 cars by 2020.