Marrakech – Hyundai Motor will supply 15 Elec City electric buses to Marrakech under a development aid project run with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the city of Marrakech.
The Korean automaker announced the delivery on Tuesday, a day after it held a handover ceremony at its Jeonju plant in Wanju County, North Jeolla Province. The event marked the completion of the first two buses, with officials from KOICA and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in attendance.
The attendees included Lee Seung-min, executive director of Hyundai’s commercial vehicle product division; Do Young-a, director of KOICA’s Regional Programs Department II; and Chafik Rachadi, Morocco’s ambassador to Korea.
The buses are the first domestically produced electric buses to reach Morocco. They will run on city routes serving Marrakech’s main tourist districts, where they are expected to help meet public transport demand and reduce urban air pollution.
The project falls under an official development assistance (ODA) program that KOICA is pursuing with Marrakech. KOICA will provide the 15 Elec City buses along with fast chargers and related equipment. The agency will also run local training and technical cooperation to strengthen capacity for operating and maintaining the vehicles.
The plan responds to Morocco’s low-carbon push across the energy, industrial, and transport sectors. The government aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 45.5% from its business-as-usual projection by 2030 and to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
The low-emission vehicles are also expected to ease urban transport costs and support a more sustainable mobility environment in the city center.
Hyundai plans to hold a local handover ceremony in Morocco in the first quarter of 2027, once it completes production and shipment of the remaining vehicles. The company framed the deal as a way to expand its eco-friendly commercial mobility abroad, tailoring future offerings to regional operating conditions and demand.
Park Chul-yeon, head of Hyundai’s Global Commercial Vehicle and LCV Division, described the project as a case that broadens the potential for electrifying public transport with electric buses.
He added that the company would provide eco-friendly commercial mobility suited to operating conditions in various regions and work with partner institutions toward a sustainable transport environment.
Do voiced hope that the project would spread eco-friendly public transport in Morocco and support sustainable urban development. She expects the Elec City supply to open the way for Korean-made electric vehicles to move more actively into Morocco and the wider North Africa region.
Rachadi pointed to the symbolic weight of introducing the buses in Marrakech, host city of the 22nd UN Climate Change Conference (COP22) and one of Morocco’s leading economic and cultural centers.
He expects the project to contribute to Morocco’s carbon neutrality goal and to improve transport convenience for residents. In his words, it could also become a new starting point for cooperation between Korea and Morocco on sustainable urban mobility.
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