How Morocco transformed itself into a carmaking hub
How Morocco transformed itself into a carmaking hub
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Each year, Moroccans buy about 160,000 new cars — a relatively small number for a population of 36m. Yet, despite modest sales, the kingdom has gained critical mass as an automotive manufacturing hub. In 2018, it surpassed South Africa as the biggest exporter of passenger cars on the continent. “Just as you’ve seen the car industry move into eastern Europe, then the next logical step is north Africa,” says David Cowan, chief economist for Africa at Citibank. Exports in 2019 hit roughly $10bn and, although they dipped in 2020 after a pandemic-related demand-and-supply crunch, they have recovered this year. About 80 per cent of the roughly 400,000 cars produced are sold to Europe, with France, Spain, Germany and Italy the top destinations. Other markets include Turkey and the Middle East, with a smattering going to the rest of Africa — a market now theoretically more accessible thanks to the African Continental Free Trade Area, a trading bloc that came into effect this year.