King Mohammed VI Follows up Automotive Industry Evolution in the Country

King Mohammed VI who is following up with keen interest the evolution of the booming automotive industry in Morocco was briefed Thursday on the extension project of the Moroccan Society of Automotive Construction (SOMACA), which is planning to double its production capacity by 2022.

The plan was unveiled by Minister of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, and President and CEO of the French Renault Group, Carlos Ghosn who were received by the Monarch in the Royal palace in Marrakesh.

SOMACA intends to double its production capacity to reach 160,000 vehicles per year by 2022.

With the increase of SOMACA’s production capacity, Renault will bring up its output in Morocco to 500,000 vehicles per year, including 340,000 manufactured at its Tangier plant.

In 2007, SOMACA exported its first vehicle “Made in Morroco”. Since then, it has become a genuine export platform, as over 60 pc of its production is destined for export.

This extension of SOMACA is part of the development of the automotive sector, which targets the production of one million vehicles a year by all auto-makers operating in Morocco and a turnover of 100 billion dirhams per year.

The rapid expansion of the automotive sector in Morocco was made possible thanks to the Sovereign’s vision and to the industrial acceleration plan he launched in April 2014.
Two years later, Renault group launched a new structural project called “Renault Ecosystem.”

The project, meant to consolidate the positioning of the Moroccan automotive sector on the world chessboard, requires an investment of about $1.0 billion and is to develop a global supply platform for the manufacturer, Renault had then announced.

The project would generate a $2.0 billion additional turnover per year, and multiply by three folds the amount of purchases by Renault of parts manufactured in Morocco, the group had said.

The automotive sector in Morocco currently has a local integration rate of more than 50% and employs 85,000 people.

The Renault Ecosystem was to create 50,000 new permanent jobs, tripling thus the number of jobs generated by Renault in the North African country.

The King’s interest in such job-generating projects falls in line with the great importance he attaches to employment, especially the employment of youths, to nurture their confidence and hope in the future.