Morocco, on the northwest corner of the African continent, might not seem to have a major involvement in the automotive industry. Although the country of 37.3 million people began assembling motor vehicles in 1959 with a state-owned company, its auto industry only began to really develop after the company was privatized in 1990. By the early 2000s, the government decided to develop its auto industry into a manufacturing hub for Europe and provided a suitable environment to attract major carmakers.
According to the government, the country now has 10,000 automotive design engineers for German, British, French and North American brands, and this number is expected to reach 50,000 in the coming 3 years.
Although its domestic sales have been around 155,000 units (passenger cars) annually, its motor vehicle exports to Europe have surpassed South Africa. Morocco is now the largest exporter of passenger vehicles to Europe, sending volumes that exceed those from Japan, Korea, the USA and China. In fact, even though demand for cars in Europe had fallen almost 30% in 2022, Morocco’s exports into the market increased by 50%.
Budget-friendly car
While domestic sales are still limited, the government wants to boost this area and will soon launch a new model said to be entirely developed in Morocco. It will be sold under the brand name of ‘Neo’ and have a price of 170,000 dirhams (around US$16,000/RM70,000). This is said to be a ‘budget-friendly’ price and for comparison, a Nissan Sentra is 235,000 dirhams (US$22,500).
Full details of the car have not been released although it is said to have passed engineering tests. It is not clear if it will have a conventional powertrain or be electrified as some reports suggest it will be an EV. With numerous parts suppliers already having factories in Morocco to support the various carmakers, the new car should be able to source almost 100% of its parts from within the country.
The car is planned only for domestic sale although exports have not been ruled out by the country’s Trade & Industry minister who said that the government would give support for ‘an international dimension’ to the business.
Moving towards EV production
Well aware of the European ban on vehicles with combustion engines from 2035, Morocco is already preparing for the change. It is drawing suppliers of components for EVs to set up factories and carmakers like Renault, Peugeot and BYD will make their EV models there. The production volumes of EVs are targeted to reach 100,000 units a year by 2025.
