Israel Seeks Moroccan Cars Amid Turkish Trade Embargo

Turkey has interrupted its trade exchanges with Israel (exports and imports) at the beginning of last month, after a previous decision to suspend exports of 54 products mainly related to building materials. According to Israeli economic analysts, this trade embargo will cause significant damage to the industry and commerce of the Hebrew state. Moreover, the Israeli media reported last August that car importers in Israel were facing a severe shortage of famous brands such as "Hyundai, Toyota, Renault and Ford", which had stopped arriving from Turkey since May.

Faced with the situation, the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz, has promised to look for new commercial alternatives, focusing on local production and imports from other countries. Morocco appears to be an ideal alternative to the Turkish embargo, as the kingdom is seeking to strengthen its car exports and maintains several trade agreements with Tel Aviv despite social and political opposition. Morocco has more than 250 companies operating in car or automotive component production. In addition, Moroccan officials are striving to maintain the country’s role as a major power in automotive manufacturing by positioning itself on electric vehicle projects, reports Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

This is evidenced by the industrial production, which now represents 22% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and the exports, which reach 14 billion dollars. The volume of trade between Morocco and Israel reached $8.5 million in June 2024, an increase of 124% compared to the same month in 2023, according to the Abraham Institute for Peace Accords.

So far, a limited number of cars manufactured in Morocco have been imported into Israel, all from the Renault group (Renault and Dacia), reports the Hebrew newspaper Calcalist, specifying that the Peugeot 208 model that should be imported into Israel from the kingdom is the Pure Tech version, i.e. the turbo version of the Peugeot. It is planned that Peugeot 208s from the Stellantis plants in Kénitra will also be imported in the coming months and that 208 models equipped with hybrid systems that will be produced in Europe will arrive in Israel next year.