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Join on Telegram Rabat – Morocco’s first car manufacturer, Neo Motors, is seeking to launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Casablanca Stock Exchange to expand to electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing, Bloomberg reports.
IPOs allow companies to go public and sell shares on a given stock exchange. Companies use IPOs to raise capital to invest in their operations.
Founded in 2017, Neo Motors is currently assembling 3,000 units a year of its first model, a three-door passenger vehicle with a retail price of $20,000. The model competes with same-price combustion-engine cars from Renault SA-owned Dacia and Chinese brands, Bloomberg’s report indicates.
The carmaker’s ambition is to reach an annual production capacity of 15,000 vehicles within three years and expand their EV offerings, Chief Executive Officer Nassim Belkhayat told Bloomberg.
The Moroccan car maker is in talks with the African Development Bank on further financing options, Belkhayat said.
Neo’s IPO is another milestone for Morocco’s blossoming car industry. For decades, Morocco has been implementing policies and investing in major infrastructure projects to turn the country into a regional manufacturing hub.
Read Also: Neo Motors Gears Up to Launch First Moroccan-Made Car in November
Leveraging its proximity to Europe, the North African country lured in household names in the car manufacturing industry, including Stellantis NV’s Peugeot and Renault. The government is now focusing on increasing the domestic industry’s integration rate by manufacturing key components locally.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Neo Motors secured loans from Moroccan banks to fund a $4.9 million (MAD 50 million) investment in its plant in Ain Aouda, located on the outskirts of Rabat.
According to Bloomberg, the success of Neo’s factory was further propelled with Peugeot’s decision to produce engines at its new Kenitra plant. The Peugeot factory provided Neo with a competitively priced local component that automakers previously had to import.
“We wanted to make a car for the people, just like Volkswagen did a century ago,” Belkhayat said.
“We made our own body, our own frame, and electric cables system and sourced the rest to 43 local suppliers,” he added.
The car industry is “cash-hungry,” he said. “So naturally a listing on the Casablanca stock to exchange is among our targets.”
