Cars are placed on a production line inside a Renault factory outside of Tangier, Morocco, Monday, April 29, 2024. Morocco has grown its automotive industry from virtually non-existent to Africas largest in less than two decades. The North African kingdom supplies more cars to Europe than China, India or Japan, and has the capacity to produce 700,000 vehicles a year. to a port on the Mediterranean Sea carries no passengers.
Mezzour said Morocco has distinguished itself from other outsourcing destinations by expanding its ports, free trade zones and highways. The government offered subsidies of up to 35% for manufacturers to put factories in the rural hinterlands outside of Tangiers, where Renault now produces Clios as well as Dacia Sanderos, Europe’s most popular passenger vehicle, and soon plans to start manufacturing hybrid Dacia Joggers.
Like in many African countries, Morocco’s domestic market for new cars is small. Less than 162,000 vehicles were sold there last year. The government's success in building an automotive industry nevertheless has made cars the tip of the spear as Morocco works to transform its Moroccan officials have sought investment from both East and West, trying to lure industry players from China, Europe and the United States as they now race to produce affordable electric vehicles at scale.— the world’s largest electric vehicle maker — has at least twice announced plans to build factories in the country that have stalled before starting.
He said the industry is likely to continue growing because Morocco's “integration rate” — the percentage of parts that carmakers can source domestically — has steadily risen to more than 65%. The country also has a competitive advantage by having the experienced and skilled autoworkers that some other outsourcing destinations lack, Bachiri said.
“It's like being on an island next door,” he said, noting instability in neighboring countries throughout North and West Africa.and European countries encourage their automakers to “onshore” electric vehicle production, it's unclear how Morocco will fare. The country has long prided itself on being a free market that eschewsand trade barriers but finds itself squeezed as countries vying for EV production advantages enact policies to protect their domestic automotive industries.
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