Morocco Overtakes South Africa as Africa’s Top Automotive Producer

The establishment of the Renault plant in Melloussa, near Tangier, and then that of PSA in Kenitra have boosted the annual automotive production capacity. According to forecasts, it will vary between 700,000 and 1,000,000 units per year by 2025-2030. Automotive exports focused on cable production were 75% until 2011. With Renault Melloussa, the share of automotive assemblies and constructions has increased from 12% in 2011 to 47% in 2018. Result: a coverage rate of automotive trade of all kinds of 72% was reached in 2018.

"This very strong increase is explained by a coverage rate of around 100% for construction goods. This percentage was only 16% in 2011. It will reduce the weight of imports in bodywork and automotive accessories, whose respective coverage rates are 8% and 26% in 2018. On the other hand, the decline observed in 2016 is the consequence of a significant increase in imported vehicles of 31%, while exports only increased by 21%," explains Henri-Louis Vedie, researcher in economic sciences at the University of Paris Dauphine. "We can therefore think that the arrival of PSA in Kenitra should further improve them, reaching 100% in 2023," it is estimated.

With the commissioning of a Peugeot plant in Kenitra in June 2019, the kingdom’s production capacity has increased by 100,000 vehicles in 2020 and will reach an additional 100,000 vehicles by 2023. To this forecast are added the strengthening of the Somaca plant by 70,000 units and the 340,000 units of Renault-Nissan in Melloussa. 2023 is the year when these forecasts will be achieved, which will bring production to 700,000 passenger car units, ranking first in the African continent, ahead of South Africa.

The Chinese manufacturer BYD (Build Your Dream Auto Industry), which participated in the China-Africa Forum in Marrakech, plans to set up four factories to produce electric cars in the Mohammed VI-Tanger Tech City. The realization of this project "will bring the automotive production capacity to 300,000 more units, bringing the total capacity of Morocco to one million passenger vehicles per year, consolidating the kingdom’s leadership position in Africa," estimates the author.

"If we stick to the units, produced or to be produced on the territory of each of them, by 2030, Morocco is in the lead, followed by South Africa and Egypt," notes the study.