Peugeot to Open €557 Million Auto Plant in Morocco, Boosting Local Manufacturing

The preparations for the start-up of this PSA plant in Kenitra are underway and have progressed well, reports the newspaper L’Economiste. Thus, the French automaker is actually in the final phase for the inauguration of this entity. Moreover, if for the specialized daily, the inauguration date is not yet set, it mainly informs that "Carlos Tavares, CEO of the PSA Peugeot-Citroën group, will make the trip for the inauguration of this state-of-the-art plant which will mark the return of the manufacturer to the African continent".

In order to be 100% operational, L’Economiste reports that the managers are already in the process of making the final adjustments to the production site as well as the recruitments. With the aim of assembling the first vehicle by early July.

To recall, this Kenitra site is dedicated to small cars such as the latest generation Peugeot 208, with the production of vehicles in the B and C segments, all built on the same platform. In total, the site should produce "some 20,000 units in 2019, for a capacity of 90,000 vehicles per year". This without losing sight of the fact that the 100,000 vehicles per year target should be reached as early as 2020.

The same source indicates that 90% of the production will be dedicated to exports, mainly to African markets, but also to the Middle East or Turkey.