(African Trade Research Center) Since its independence, Morocco has become one of the few countries in Africa dedicated to the development of the automobile industry. In 2014, the automobile industry surpassed the phosphate industry for the first time and became the country's largest export-generating industry.
1. The development history of Morocco's automobile industry
1) Initial stage
Since Morocco's independence, it has become one of the few countries in Africa dedicated to the development of the automobile industry, except for South Africa and other automobile kingdoms.
In 1959, with the help of the Italian Fiat Automobile Group, Morocco established the Moroccan Automobile Manufacturing Company (SOMACA). The plant is mainly used to assemble Simca and Fiat brand cars, with a maximum annual production capacity of 30,000 cars.
In 2003, in view of the poor operating conditions of SOMACA, the Moroccan government decided to stop renewing the contract with Fiat Group and sold its 38% stake in the company to the French Renault Group. In 2005, the Renault Group purchased all of its Moroccan automobile manufacturing company shares from Fiat Group, and used the company to assemble Dacia Logan, a cheap car brand under the group. It plans to produce 30,000 vehicles per year, half of which is exported to the Eurozone and the Middle East. Logan cars quickly became Morocco's best-selling car brand.
2) Rapid development stage
In 2007, the Moroccan automobile industry entered a stage of rapid development. This year, the Moroccan government and Renault Group signed an agreement to jointly decide to build a car factory in Tangier, Morocco with a total investment of about 600 million euros, with a designed annual output of 400,000 vehicles, 90% of which will be exported.
In 2012, the Renault Tangier plant was officially put into operation, mainly producing Renault brand low-cost cars, and immediately became the largest car assembly plant in Africa and the Arab region.
In 2013, the second phase of the Renault Tangier plant was officially put into use, and the annual production capacity was increased to 340,000 to 400,000 vehicles.
In 2014, the Renault Tangier plant and its holding SOMACA actually produced 227,000 vehicles, with a localization rate of 45%, and plans to reach 55% this year. In addition, the establishment and development of Renault Tanger Automobile Assembly Plant has promoted the development of the surrounding automobile upstream industry. There are more than 20 auto parts factories around the factory, including Denso Co., Ltd., French stamping equipment manufacturer Snop, and Valeo of France Valeo, French automotive glass manufacturer Saint Gobain, Japanese seat belt and airbag manufacturer Takata, and American automotive electronic system manufacturer Visteon, among others.
In June 2015, the French Peugeot-Citroen Group announced that it would invest 557 million euros in Morocco to build an automobile assembly plant with a final annual output of 200,000 vehicles. It will mainly produce low-cost cars such as Peugeot 301 for export to traditional markets in Africa and the Middle East. It will start production in 2019.
3) The automobile industry has become the largest export industry of Morocco
From 2009 to 2014, the Moroccan automobile industry's annual export value increased from 12 billion dirhams to 40 billion dirhams, and its share in Morocco's total exports also increased from 10.6% to 20.1%.
The data analysis on the export destination markets of motorcycles shows that from 2007 to 2013, the export destination markets of motorcycles are highly concentrated in 31 European countries, accounting for 93%, of which 46% are France, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom respectively They are 35%, 7% and 4.72%. In addition, the African continent also occupies part of the market, Egypt and Tunisia are 2.5% and 1.2% respectively.
In 2014, it surpassed the phosphate industry for the first time, and the Moroccan automobile industry became the largest export earning industry in Moroccan. Moroccan Minister of Industry and Trade Alami said in November 2015 that the export volume of the Moroccan automobile industry is expected to reach 100 billion dirhams in 2020.
The rapid development of the automobile industry has improved the competitiveness of Moroccan export products to a certain extent, and at the same time improved the state of the long-term deficit of Moroccan foreign trade. In the first half of 2015, driven by exports from the automotive industry, Morocco had a trade surplus with France, its second largest trading partner, for the first time, reaching 198 million euros.
It is reported that the Moroccan automotive cable industry has always been the largest industry in the Moroccan automotive industry. At present, the industry has gathered more than 70 companies and achieved exports of 17.3 billion dirhams in 2014. However, when the Renault Tangier assembly plant was put into operation in 2012, Moroccan vehicle exports soared from Dh1.2 billion in 2010 to Dh19.5 billion in 2014, an annual growth rate of more than 52%, surpassing the previous ranking. Export of cable industry.
2. Moroccan domestic automobile market
Due to the small population base, the domestic automobile market in Morocco is relatively small. From 2007 to 2014, the domestic annual car sales were only between 100,000 and 130,000. According to data from the Motorcycle importers Association, the sales volume of Motorcycles increased by 1.09% in 2014, and the sales volume of new cars reached 122,000, but it was still lower than the record of 130,000 set in 2012. Among them, Renault's cheap car brand Dacia is the best seller. The sales data of each brand is as follows: Dacia sales 33,737 vehicles, an increase of 11%; Renault sales 11475, a decrease of 31%; Ford sales 11,194 vehicles, an increase of 8.63%; Fiat sales of 10,074 vehicles, an increase of 33%; Peugeot sales 8,901 , Down 8.15%; Citroen sold 5,382 vehicles, an increase of 7.21%; Toyota sold 5138 vehicles, an increase of 34%.
3. Moroccan automobile industry attracts foreign investment
From 2010 to 2013, the foreign direct investment attracted by the motorcycle industry increased significantly, from 660 million dirhams to 2.4 billion dirhams, and its share of foreign direct investment attracted by the industrial sector increased from 19.2% to 45.3%. Among them, in 2012, due to the construction of Renault Tangier factory, the foreign direct investment attracted that year reached a peak of 3.7 billion dirhams.
France is Morocco's largest source of foreign direct investment. With the establishment of the Renault Tangier car factory, Morocco has gradually become a foreign production base for French companies. This trend will become more apparent after the completion of Peugeot-Citroen's production base in Motorcycle in 2019.
4. Development advantages of Morocco's automobile industry
In recent years, the Moroccan automobile industry has become one of the engines of industrial development. There are currently more than 200 companies distributed in three major centers, namely Tangier (43%), Casablanca (39%) and Kenitra (7%) . In addition to its superior geographical location, stable political situation, and low labor costs, its rapid development has the following reasons:
1. Morocco has signed free trade agreements with the European Union, Arab countries, the United States and Turkey, and the Moroccan automobile industry can also export to the above countries without tariffs.
The French automakers Renault and Peugeot-Citroen have seen the above advantages and turned Morocco into a low-cost car production base for exports to the European Union and Arab countries. In addition, the establishment of an automobile assembly plant will surely drive upstream parts companies to invest and set up factories in Morocco, thereby driving the development of the entire automobile industry chain.
2. Formulate a clear development plan.
In 2014, Morocco proposed an accelerated industrial development plan, in which the automobile industry has become a key industry for Morocco due to its high added value, long industrial chain, strong driving ability and employment resolution. According to the plan, by 2020, the production capacity of the Moroccan automobile industry will increase from the current 400,000 to 800,000, the localization rate will increase by 20% to 65%, and the number of jobs will increase by 90,000 to 170,000.
3. Give certain taxes and financial subsidies.
In the automobile city established by the government (one each in Tangier and Kenitra), corporate income tax is exempted for the first 5 years, and the tax rate for the next 20 years is 8.75%. The general corporate income tax rate is 30%. In addition, the Moroccan government also grants subsidies to some auto parts manufacturers investing in Moroccan, including 11 sub-sectors in the four major fields of cable, automobile interiors, metal stamping and storage batteries, and is the first investment in these 11 industries. -3 companies can receive a subsidy of 30% of the maximum investment.
In addition to the above subsidies, the Moroccan government also uses the Hassan II Fund and the Industrial and Investment Development Fund to provide investment incentives.
4. Financial institutions will further participate in supporting the development of the automobile industry.
In July 2015, Attijariwafa Bank, the Moroccan Foreign Trade Bank (BMCE) and BCP Bank, the three largest Moroccan banks, signed an agreement with the Moroccan Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Moroccan Automobile Industry and Commerce Association (Amica) to support the development strategy of the automobile industry. The three banks will provide foreign exchange financing services to the automotive industry, accelerating the collection of subcontractors' bills, and provide financing services for investment and training subsidies.
5. The Moroccan government vigorously promotes the training of talents in the automotive field.
King Mohammed VI mentioned in his speech on the enthronement day in 2015 that the development of vocational training institutions in the automotive industry should be further promoted. At present, four automobile industry talent training institutions (IFMIA) have been established in Tangier, Casa and Kennethra, where the automobile industry is concentrated. From 2010 to 2015, 70,000 talents were trained, including 1,500 managers, 7,000 engineers, 29,000 technicians, and 32,500 operators. In addition, the government also subsidizes personnel training. The annual training subsidy is 30,000 dirhams for management personnel, 30,000 dirhams for technicians, and 15,000 dirhams for operators. Each person can enjoy the above subsidies for a total of 3 years.
The Africa Trade Research Center analyzes that, at present, the automobile industry is the key planning and development industry in the Moroccan government's "Accelerated Industrial Development Plan". In recent years, various advantages such as foreign trade advantage agreements, clear development plans, favorable policies, support from financial institutions, and a large number of automobile talents have helped promote the automobile industry to become the country's largest export earning industry. At present, Morocco's automobile industry investment is mainly based on automobile assembly, and the establishment of automobile assembly plants will drive upstream component companies to invest in Morocco, thereby driving the development of the entire automobile industry chain.
South Africa Auto Parts Dealer Directory
Kenya Auto Parts Dealer Directory
