The Moroccan Ministry of Industry and Trade announced the start of manufacturing the first electric car for Renault at the Tangiers plant in the north of the country, according to local media.
It will start producing the electric car in the first quarter of next year, with a production capacity of about 17,000 cars, and it is expected to direct production to the European market.
During a press conference in Tangiers on Tuesday, the Moroccan Minister of Industry and Trade, Riad Mazour, praised the success achieved by the automotive sector in Morocco, indicating that its production capacity reached 700,000 cars, with a workforce of more than 220,000 people across the country.
Mazur confirmed Morocco's efforts to boost local production of electric cars, in response to the growing global demand for electric and hybrid cars, according to the Moroccan TV website.
The minister explained that his country is now exporting auto parts to about 70 global destinations, considering this a "remarkable success" achieved by the Moroccan Renault group.
He stressed the need to keep Morocco among the most competitive countries in the automotive industry.
Mazur confirmed the group's ability to carry out good projects in the coming months, noting that it has proven its global position 10 years after the establishment of the Renault factory.
Automotive sector exports
The minister pointed out that his country tops the list of countries exporting car products to Europe, from outside the European Union, competing with major countries.
He added that Moroccan exports in the auto sector rose by about 30%, despite the economic challenges the world is witnessing, and car exports in the first half of this year amounted to 52.84 billion dirhams ($4.9 billion), recording an increase of 30.1%, according to the data of the exchange office.
The exports of about 250 Moroccan factories for cars and their spare parts have also managed to occupy the first place in industrial exports to Morocco in recent years, surpassing phosphate sales.
In June 2020, the French company Citroen announced the manufacture of the first electric car at its factory in the northern Moroccan city of Kenitra, and in December 2020, Morocco unveiled a model of a locally produced electric car charging station.
The Moroccan Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a statement at the time that the charging station is the result of a research project developed at the request of the auto sector makers.