- Multinational vehicle manufacturers are increasingly turning to Africa for setting up production bases.
- Morocco in 2018 overtook South Africa that had a well-established presence of car making for many years.
- Apart from Morocco, vehicle manufacturers are also setting up production plants in Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria and Rwanda.
Multinational vehicle manufacturers are increasingly turning to Africa for setting up production bases. Morocco in 2018 overtook South Africa that had a well-established presence of car making for many years.
Morocco is fast emerging automotive manufacturing hub. In 2018, the North African country overtook South Africa as the biggest African exporter of passenger cars. Car exports from Morocco in 2019 stood at $10 billion (€8.5 billion). Both Morocco and South Africa mainly make cars for foreign markets. They also have relatively large domestic markets.
VW, Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler and BMW are the largest car companies in Africa. Almost a third of the cars are sold in South Africa in 2019. About 80 per cent of the cars produced in Morocco are sold to Europe, with France, Spain, Germany and Italy the main destinations. Stellantis/Opel, the automobile conglomerate will start producing the “Opel Rocks-E” in Morocco, kickstarting the local EV industry. US company Tesla, and China’s BYD electric vehicles also are set to start production. Morocco’s main advantage is its location close to European markets and the free trade agreements it has signed with Europe, the U.S., Turkey, the United Arab Emirates etc.
Apart from Morocco, vehicle manufacturers are also setting up production plants in Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria and Rwanda. Chinese automaker Dongfeng signed an MOU in January 2021 with the Egyptian state-owned El Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company to jointly produce electric vehicles. In Rwanda, Volkswagen is testing e-mobility while European production facilities are planned in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Ghana.
