Automotive industry: US company Lear opens new plant in Meknes

The American group specializing in the manufacture of automobile seats and electrical and electronic systems has inaugurated a new factory in Meknes that adds to the 15 units the US group already operates in Morocco.

The new site, which required an investment of $18.3 million (200 Million DH), was built on an area of 54,000 m², including 18,200 m² dedicated to production, and has enabled the creation of more than 2,000 direct jobs. This number is expected to increase to 2,600 jobs in 2023.

This factory, the 16th of the group in Morocco, will also produce wiring for electric cars.

For the US group’s executives, this new project reflects the dynamic of the automotive industry in Morocco as well as the group’s opening up on the international environment.

Present on this occasion, the Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, noted: “Our industry continues to attract and retain world leaders in the automotive sector. This dynamic is consolidated today with the inauguration of the new factory of the Lear group which once again renews its confidence in the Moroccan industrial platform and comes to meet the strong demand of the national automotive ecosystem whose performance is no longer to be demonstrated”.

The group has been present in Morocco since 2003 through its factories in Rabat, Kenitra, Tangier and Meknes. It is considered today to be one of the largest employers in the Kingdom, with 18,000 employees spread over its various sites.

The group has an engineering center in Rabat addressing seating and electronics activities and employing more than 250 engineers.