The automotive sector is a flagship of the national industry. Over the years, it has acquired a place of reference in the national economic landscape, to the point of becoming the leading exporter in front of historical and strategic sectors such as phosphates, agricultural products or textiles.

The activity is part of a strong development dynamic, aided in this by the support measures initiated by the State and also the emergence of a very attractive business environment. Despite the constraints linked to the pandemic, the sector achieved a turnover of 72.18 billion DH in 2020.

Between 2014 and September 2021, it was able to create more than 180,761 jobs. Currently, its production capacity reaches 700,000 vehicles per year. “The initial objectives of the Industrial Acceleration Plan (PAI), ie the creation of 90,000 jobs and the annual production of 600,000 vehicles, have been exceeded. We do not owe this success to chance! ” , recently underlined Ryad Mezzour, Minister of Trade and Industry.

During a meeting with the Moroccan Association of Automobile Industry and Construction (Amica), he affirmed that “this growth, we owe it to the excellence of national production and to the ecosystems put in place having made of 'made in Morocco' an international reference. Our automotive industrial platform exports to more than 74 countries around the world, with a local integration rate of 60% ”, he added. It must be recognized that the future prospects for increasing the integration rate are very promising, because several sectors are still little or not invested. A few years ago, no one could imagine that the Kingdom could join the top ten in terms of volume of vehicles produced. In terms of competitiveness, Morocco is third behind China and India. These strengths are a necessary ingredient to enable the national automotive industry to raise its level of excellence.

"We must capitalize on the elements that have enabled the sector to forge the place it currently occupies, in particular its political stability, the country's geographical proximity to the principals, the costs of competitive factors of production, an effort in promotion of the sector internationally and an adequate business environment. Industrial activity is capital intensive and investors need visibility for the long term, ” underlines Youssef Idrissi, professor of industrial economics. “ Morocco has an interest in investing in new sectors with high added value both technically and economically in order to raise the level of activity.In this regard, we must encourage research and development and support advanced training of human resources to meet the needs of equipment manufacturers, ” explains Idrissi.

It is useful to specify that most automotive suppliers in Morocco are subsidiaries of foreign multinationals. These companies are sometimes created in partnership with Moroccan operators, but the presence of local capital leaves much to be desired compared to other countries.

W/FinanceNews