Rabat – Morocco’s automotive sector is outperforming expectations, and for the first time car manufacturing overtakes phosphate as the largest exporting sector, data from Office d’Echange (OE) indicates.
Over the first three months, exports from Morocco’s automotive industry reached (MAD 33.9 billion), marking an impressive 44% year-on-year increase.
Meanwhile, Morocco’s phosphate exports dipped by 25% in the first three months of 2023, OE data indicates.
At the end of the first three months of 2023, phosphate exports totaled MAD 18.3 billion ($1.8 billion), down from MAD 24.5 billion ($2.4 billion) a year ago, the OE report shows.
The drop in phosphate exports is due to plunging fertilizers prices on the international market.
Morocco’s Automotive industry
Thanks to years of state policies aiming to enhance the country’s ability to host investments, Morocco is now home to the largest automotive industry in Africa.
The country overtook South Africa in 2018 to become the largest automobile manufacturer on the continent. The industry is predicted to grow by approximately $14 billion by 2026, according to research by advisory firm Mordor Intelligence.
The industry is also experiencing a positive trend in growth, fueled by both foreign investment and government incentives, though it faced a temporary slowdown due to the pandemic.
As of 2021, Morocco signed 25 trade agreements with various car manufacturers in the European Union and the United States. Demand for passenger vehicles is on the rise, and both established manufacturers such as Dacia, Renault, Peugeot, and new entrants like Chinese manufacturer BYD and German manufacturer Volkswagen have established production plants in Morocco.
Morocco’s luxury automobile manufacturing has equally seen significant growth, with Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi leading the way in increased sales.
Industry experts forecast that Morocco will be able to produce one million cars by 2030 and will soon overtake Italy in vehicle production.
According to Oxford Business Group, the car industry accounted for approximately 19% of the Moroccan GDP in 2019 and is predicted to increase to about 24% by 2022.
