Morocco has production plants for Stellantis and Renault, with a total annual production capacity of 700,000 vehicles, and is also home to a large number of local suppliers.
Last week, the Moroccan government gave the green light to Chinese battery maker BTR New Materials Group to build a factory near Tangier to produce cathodes, a key component.
“This is the first memorandum of understanding that we have translated into an investment agreement,” Mezor said in an interview with Reuters.
Another Chinese manufacturer, CNGR Advanced Materials, plans to build a cathode factory in Jorf Lasfar, 100 kilometers south of Casablanca, where the government has earmarked 283 hectares for the battery industry.
“BTR or CNGR or other factories will be able to supply gigafactories in Morocco and abroad,” he said.
Last year, the Moroccan government and China’s Gaution agreed to explore establishing an electric vehicle battery factory in the kingdom, ultimately investing up to $6.3 billion.
Mezor said the Gotion project is in discussions regarding footprint and location.
“This could potentially become a gigafactory,” he said, referring to a large battery production factory.
He said the company is also in talks with five other manufacturers to set up similar factories, but declined to provide further details.
The minister said that while investment in batteries was “one of the measures to prepare the automotive sector for the requirements of electric mobility”, the next step would be vehicle platforms and electric motors.
He said Moroccan-made electric cars will account for up to 60% of exported cars by 2030, ahead of the EU’s ban on fossil fuel cars in 2035.
Stellantis’ Kenitra plant has a production capacity of 50,000 supermini electric vehicles.
Renault plans to start producing a hybrid version of the seven-seater Dacia Jogger at its Tangier plant in the second half of this year, with an annual production capacity of 120,000 units.
“We are gradually switching our value chain and expanding our value chain so that we can offer a highly competitive and integrated value chain to all markets,” Mesor said.
(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi; Editing by David Evans)
