Agadir – Morocco’s automotive sector continues to grow in spite of lingering, Covid-induced crises. Earlier today, the fast-growing industry saw the signing of two memoranda regarding the creation of four new factories.
Moulay Hafid Elalamy, Morocco’s Minister of Industry, Commerce and Green and Digital Economy, chaired the signing ceremony in Casablanca. The agreements involve an investment of MAD 912 million ($103 million), and are expected to create at least 8,300 jobs.
The investments are for the construction of new industrial cable harness factories for two Japanese groups, Yazaki and Sumitomo.
Yazaki will invest MAD 462 million ($52 million) in building three new factories in Tangier, Kenitra, and Meknes, creating 6,300 new jobs. Sumitomo, for its part, has pledged an investment of MAD 450 million ($51 million) to open its fifth factory in Casablanca. The new project is designed to meet a growing private demand, creating another 2,000 jobs.
Both companies arrived in Morocco in the early 2000s. Since then, the Yazaki group has grown to employ approximately 13,000 people, while Sumimoto is one of the leading employers in Morocco, with over 25,000 jobs created.
“Under the leadership of [King Mohammed VI], Morocco is on the way to becoming the most competitive automotive hub in the world. We intend to continue this momentum by improving the deep integration of our ecosystems and decarbonizing industrial production,” Elalamy said.
Echoing the study’s findings, Elalamy stressed that “Morocco is continuing to achieve this strategic goal by improving the level of deep integration of our industrial systems, and a shift towards industrial production devoid of carbon.”
In September of last year, the minister said in an interview that Morocco intends to take full advantage of the opportunities that the COVID-19 crisis has offered. Morocco, he argued, can become one of the world’s most competitive automotive hubs.
