Rabat – Chinese battery parts maker CNGR Advanced Material Co and Moroccan private investment fund Al Mada are reportedly teaming up to build an industrial base in Morocco.
The construction of the industrial base will begin this year inJorf Lasfar, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, adding that the total investment to carry out the project is estimated at $2 billion.
The project will focus on developing battery components in line with the growing electronic vehicle industry. The initial production target is set for 2025, Bloomberg reported.
Moroccan television channel SNRTNews quoted a joint statement from the two companies highlighting Morocco’s assets, including phosphate resources – a key material in the production of phosphate-lithium cells, which are increasingly used in electric vehicles.
The two partners emphasized the importance of the project, saying that its production is sufficient to equip more than one million electric vehicles per year.
The production will mainly be exported.
“The partners are in talks with the OCP Group to secure the necessary phosphate,” SNRTNews quoted the statement as saying.
Morocco has been stepping up efforts to become a continental and international leader in the EV sector.
The turnover of the Moroccan automotive sector reached $7 billion at the end of June, with an annual growth rate of 34%, according to data from Morocco’s Exchange Office (OE).
Read also: Morocco’s Automotive Industry Achieves Record Exports of MAD 44 Billion
The data from the OE’s report said the increase in the sector’s exports was a result of a rise in demand across all segments of the automotive sector.
Imports from the wiring segment rose by 44%, while imports from the construction segment rose by 26%, and the interior vehicles and seats segment by 34%.
The Moroccan government expects the automotive sector to continue to outperform growth projections as it intensifies efforts to transition to electric car production to maintain its strong manufacturing position in the global transition to a greener economy.
In September 2022, the country unveiled an ambitious industrial plan that aims to expand electric car production capacity within two years.
According to the plan, Morocco’s electric car production is set to reach 100,000 units per year within two to three years, doubling current production levels.
The North African country also continues to attract industrial operators active in EV and car manufacturing companies from around the world, thanks to its strategic location just a few miles away from Europe.
The country is home to manufacturers like Dacia, Renault, Peugeot, as well as Chinese manufacturer BYD and German manufacturer Volkswagen, which have all set up production facilities in Morocco.
