Renault relies heavily on Morocco for its low cost range. The car group has announced its decision to double the capacity of its factory in Casablanca, where are manufactured Logan and Sandero Dacia: by 2022, the plant will produce 160,000 vehicles, instead of 80,000 today. An announcement made Friday, after a meeting between the King of Morocco Mohammed VI and the CEO from Renault, Carlos Ghosn.
“It’s about responding to the growing demand,” says the manufacturer. In the first nine months of the year, it sold 357,000 Sandero worldwide (it was the best-selling vehicle in France in 2016 and 2017, excluding tactical sales and company fleets), while the Logan totaled 217,242 deliveries. In total, sales of Dacia vehicles rose by 9.5% over the period, after having already increased by 12% in 2017 .
Low salary costs
With this new investment (the amount of which has not been communicated), Renault’s production capacity in Morocco will then reach 500,000 vehicles, including the Tangiers plant, which opened in 2012 and now produces 340,000 cars a year. (Sandero, Dokker and Lodgy). Either more than in Romania or Turkey, and not so far from France (780,000 vehicles last year, including 94,000 Nissan Micra). Renault employs 8,100 people in the country.
Established in Morocco since 1966, Renault has gradually consolidated its industrial base, benefiting in particular low wage costs, particularly stable (the monthly minimum wage in 2018 is 2570 dirhams or 237 euros), as well as financial incentives put in place by the kingdom.
Competitive suppliers
The gradual establishment of an automotive ecosystem, with the expected arrival of other manufacturers such as PSA (which plans to produce 200,000 cars in 2019), has also allowed it to find on-site competitive suppliers. In 2016, the group signed an agreement with the local government, pledging to increase its purchases from 750 million to 1.5 billion euros. The manufacturer has also committed to increasing its local integration rate from 45% to 65%.
Today, the vast majority of cars produced by the group in Morocco are exported, to 74 countries in the world, especially to Europe. Dacia also produces Sandero in Romania, Algeria, and Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia), but in much smaller quantities.