Morocco is now the largest exporter of passenger vehicles into Europe, according to the government.
Ryad Mezzour, minister of industry and trade, told the House of Councillors the country’s vehicle shipments to Europe exceeded China, Japan, South Korea and the US, according to state news agency MAP.
He said while demand for cars in Europe had fallen by 26% this year, Morocco’s sales into this market had increased by 50%.
Mezzour said the country had 10,000 car design engineers for German, British, French and North American brands, with a goal to reach 50,000 engineers in three years.
“The kingdom is full of skills capable of manufacturing cars and dedicated factories,” he said.
He also announced the imminent launch of a car brand designed wholly in Morocco.
The new car will be 100% locally-made with a price of 170,000 dirham ($16,000), with public administrations among the first customers, according to North Africa Post.
Mezzour said the country had a production capacity of 700,000 cars, with a target to reach 1m. The value of automotive exports should reach 100bn dirhams ($9.4bn) this year.
Last year the government announced it would start manufacturing semiconductors for use in electric vehicles.
Also in 2021 two Japanese component manufacturers said they would build new factories worth $103m in Morocco to predominantly produce wire harnesses for the car industry.
In 2019 carmaker PSA opened a $615m manufacturing facility in the country with a capacity of 200,000 vehicles per year.
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