Morocco Aims to Lure Automakers to Become a Production hub of North Africa

The African nation already has a couple of automotive plants one in Casablanca and one in Tangiers, both owned by Renault. The Tangiers plant is now stepping up the production capacity. Renault rolled out 60,000 cars last year from the plant and has plans to double the number this year. About 95% of the produce will be exported.

The Tangiers facility is built to produce 4,00,000 units per year and the French car maker is expected to add more and more models to the plant every year. Both Renault and Dacia branded cars could be built there.

Meanwhile, Morocco is aiming to lure Renault to expand its production foot print in the country. There are many reasons for Renault to consider Morocco seriously.

For starters, the pay scale in the country is roughly one fourth of that of Europe. In addition, Morocco has healthy Free Trade Agreements with many EU and Middle East nations.

If Renault expands its operations in Morocco, the nation’s high unemployment rate can be brought down. The economy which largely depends on agriculture is getting some support from the Tangiers factory as it sources 40% of the components from the local vendors.

Morocco’s attempt to create a conducive environment for automobile manufacturing could see few more car makers preferring to set up a shop in the North African country rather than investing heavily in Europe.