Morocco Overtakes South Africa as Africa’s Top Car Manufacturer in 2024

With the Renault-Dacia plants in Casablanca and Tangier, or the Stellantis plant in Kenitra (Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat Opel, etc.), Morocco is ranked first in vehicle manufacturing in Africa for the year 2024. The kingdom thus dethrones South Africa which "has been the undisputed number one in vehicle manufacturing across the continent for several decades", indicates L’Économiste.

Morocco is expected to produce nearly 614,000 cars (passenger and light commercial vehicles) in 2024, according to Fitch Solutions analysts. Meanwhile, South Africa’s vehicle production is expected to plummet to 591,000 units. Two factors justify this decline: the "poor logistics performance and an increase in vehicle imports into South Africa in 2024".

The daily also highlights Morocco’s continuous investments in the automotive industry to support the growth of its local production, particularly that of electric vehicles. In 2023, Renault’s production stood at nearly 382,661 units in its two plants in Casablanca and Tangier. The French manufacturer aims to reach 500,000 units by 2025.

Stellantis Maroc, for its part, produces 200,000 cars per year and plans to reach 450,000. In total, more than 582,000 cars were produced in Morocco in 2023. This production should reach 1.09 million units per year by 2033, according to Fitch Solutions analysts. Morocco will remain the leader in Africa "due to its proximity to the EU, trade agreements (FTA), logistics infrastructure, incentives,..." concludes the daily.