The green mobility revolution has arrived in Morocco”, according to a very recent study by the Middle East Institute. This is an independent, evidence-based, non-partisan, non-profit NGO. The study was published following the recent official announcement of the signing of an agreement for the installation of a “Gigafactory” dedicated to the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles. The information was confirmed on July 21 by the Minister of Industry, Ryad Mezzour.
Such an announcement now places Morocco in pole position in the restricted and closed circle of green mobility leaders in the Middle East and North Africa, the report points out. “Morocco’s rise as a global hub for electric vehicle manufacturing is as critical to Western supply chain resilience as it is to promoting carbon-free mobility to combat climate change. The focus on shortening supply chains to ensure stability in European consumer markets has already contributed to the rapid advance of Morocco’s automotive manufacturing sector and its development of more advanced manufacturing processes. Today, Morocco’s mining reserves for batteries are accelerating this country’s entry into the manufacture of electric vehicles”, says the Middle East Institute study. According to the line ministry, Morocco is about to sign a 2-billion-dollar agreement for the construction of a Gigafactory, a mega-factory dedicated to the massive production of batteries for electric vehicles. The signing of this agreement is scheduled before the end of the year (2022), but no information was leaked concerning the industrial group that will carry this investment. As a reminder, in industrial jargon, the term Gigafactory refers to a gigantic factory specializing in particular in batteries for electric cars. The concept of “Gigafactory” owes its origin to the American manufacturer Tesla (in 2014), which is also one of the pioneers in the production of electric vehicles under the brand with the same name.
According to the Middle East Institute, even though Minister Mezzour remained evasive concerning the overall capacity volume and the number of production lines of the facilities of the future factory, and other issues, the amount of the investment, per se, provides information on the specificities of this type of production site, which will have, a priori, the same configuration as the “Tesla’s $2 billion giga-factory in Shanghai, China”, according to the study. The report also announces that the made-in-Morocco industrial platform intends to increase the production capacity to one million vehicles per year and this, in three years (2025). Until then, everything suggests that most of the units produced in Morocco will be made up of electric vehicles.
Amin RBOUB
