Attended by the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, the Minister of Industry and Trade Ryad Mezzour, and Stellantis executives for the Middle East and Africa, the inauguration underscored the importance of this partnership initiated in 2016.
Initially designed to produce 200,000 combustion-powered cars by 2020, a milestone achieved three years ahead of schedule, the Kénitra site has seen its « combustion » capacity increase to 400,000 units a year, while micromobility alone will account for 135,000 light vehicles by 2026.
Over 3100 new direct jobs created
In addition to volumes, Stellantis intends to develop a whole industrial ecosystem locally: assembly of micro-hybrid (MHEV) motors, planned from November 2026 for 350,000 units per year; manufacture of small lithium-ion batteries (up to 5.5 kWh) before the end of 2025; production of charging stations (204.000 units per year); and the expansion of micromobility, with the tripling of electric quadricycles from 20,000 to 70,000 units per year, as well as 65,000 « Fiat Tris » delivery tricycles developed by the Stellantis Automotive Technical Center in Kenitra. This ramp-up will boost the sector’s local integration rate to over 60%, while creating some 3,100 additional direct jobs, on top of the 3,500 already in place.
« This expansion is a major step forward in the exemplary and long-standing partnership between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Stellantis Group »
« This extension represents a major step forward in the exemplary and long-standing partnership between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Stellantis group », declared Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch on the sidelines of the press conference organized on this occasion, and recalled: « This partnership was concluded in June 2015, through the signing, under the effective presidency of His Majesty the King, of the memorandum of understanding relating to the group’s establishment in Morocco. » An agreement that laid « the foundations for a structuring and promising industrial project. » Since then, « a high-performance, integrated and innovation-oriented industrial ecosystem has gradually grown up around this project. »
Morocco confirms its status as continental automotive leader
Ryad Mezzour, for his part, praised Morocco’s trajectory which will soon have a global production capacity in excess of one million vehicles per year. « Export commitments already reached by suppliers amount to 2.7 billion euros, and will rise to over 6.5 billion in the short term. It’s a colossal project; it’s undoubtedly one of the world’s most efficient industrial complexes in the sector, » he declared. Stellantis’ stated objective – to achieve 75% local integration and over 6 billion euros in purchases from Moroccan suppliers by 2030 – is fully in line with Morocco’s industrial roadmap, according to Mezzour.
On the product front, the site’s new configuration will enable the assembly, from February 2026, of a seven-seat urban SUV signed Fiat, christened internally « Pandissima. » Built on the Smart Car platform, this model will share many components with the future Citroën C3 Aircross and Opel Frontera, which are not yet scheduled for sale in Morocco.
« The expansion of the Kenitra site makes the Kingdom a forward-looking platform for investments linked to sustainable and electric mobility and supply chains in Europe »
With this extension of the Kenitra site, Morocco « confirms its status as a continental leader in the automotive industry », at a time when the energy transition and the digitalization of mobility are reshaping the contours of the sector. Faced with increasing competition from Eastern European and North Asian countries, Morocco is counting on « quality, local integration and diversification of its industrial activities » to maintain its competitive edge.
Stellantis’ challenge, backed by the Moroccan government, is to gradually transform this site into a multifunctional hub, capable of meeting the growing demand for combustion, light hybrid and electric vehicles, while at the same time boosting the Moroccan manufacturing ecosystem.
« Taken as a whole, this expansion confirms Morocco’s place as a continental leader in the automotive sector, » concluded Akhannouch. « It makes the Kingdom a forward-looking platform for investments related to sustainable and electric mobility as well as supply chains in Europe. »
Written in French by ElMehdi El Azhary; edited in English by AngloMedia Group.
