Morocco Emerges as Global Automotive Powerhouse, Boosting Production 20-Fold

"How Morocco has transformed into the automotive El Dorado". This is the title of the article published on Friday in Les Échos, the French economic daily. An article that recounts the success story of Morocco in the automotive sector to the point of becoming, in less than 20 years, one of the largest car producers in the world. A real feat for the kingdom that has managed to attract Renault and Stellantis, two giants in the sector, who have set up factories there, generating hundreds of thousands of jobs.

According to the publication, this "Moroccan automotive miracle" is not explained "only by a low labor cost". The specialized daily highlights Morocco’s assets, including its geographical proximity to Europe, its political stability, its minimum wage around 300 euros per month, etc., as well as the implementation of a successful strategy, which has allowed the kingdom to make a quantitative leap, going from some 30,000 Renault vehicles assembled with imported parts at the Somaca in Casablanca, to 600,000 vehicles produced in the factories of Tangier, Kenitra and Rabat with 65% of parts manufactured on site.

It all started with Renault deciding in 2007 to build a factory in Tangier. "To seduce the French group, the Kingdom of Morocco rolled out the red carpet for it, ceding the necessary land and participating in the initial investment," the publication indicates, specifying that the group produced some 255,000 Dacia brand vehicles last year. A performance that surprised the group’s leaders. "I’ve never seen a factory grow so fast," rejoiced Christophe Dridi, head of the Global Access range, quoted by the daily. Most of the production (90%) is exported to Western Europe.

"Over the years, a very dense ecosystem has been formed that has convinced Stellantis to also open a factory in 2019, in Kenitra. Some 150,000 Peugeot 208s will come out of it this year, not to mention 30,000 Citroën AMIs," we read. In addition, there is the quality of the workforce. "The government covers the majority of the training costs and it is organized by the companies. This system produces a workforce of excellent quality, in particular thousands of technicians and engineers trained in the automotive industry, which is an additional reason to settle there," explains Patrick Dupoux, director of Africa at Boston Consulting Group. But Morocco is aiming further. It is already attracting battery gigafactories.