Morocco ranked second across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for new investment projects in the automotive sector, behind Egypt, according to a report by BMI, a subsidiary of Fitch Solutions. The ranking confirms Morocco’s growing role as a key hub in the region’s industrial reconfiguration in 2025.
The report shows that Morocco recorded 23 new automotive investment projects over the past year, compared with 27 projects in Egypt and 15 in the United Arab Emirates. The figures reflect sustained confidence among international investors in Morocco’s industrial capabilities and its ability to compete in an increasingly dynamic regional environment.
According to BMI, the majority of these projects focus on automotive components manufacturing, accounting for around 65 percent of total investments, while the remainder relates to vehicle assembly. This structure highlights Morocco’s capacity to strengthen local production chains and deepen its integration into global automotive value chains.
The report notes that Morocco has benefited significantly from its geographical proximity to Europe and its position within global supply chains, reinforcing its appeal as a destination for international companies active in vehicle assembly and components production.
BMI also underlines that Morocco combines an integrated industrial ecosystem with an internationally attractive investment framework, allowing it to capture a substantial share of new automotive projects in the region in 2025, despite the absence of a large-scale public programme comparable to that of Egypt.
While North Africa continues to attract the bulk of automotive investments in the MENA region, the report points to intensified efforts by Gulf countries—particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia—in segments related to electric and autonomous vehicles.
In Morocco, new investments span the entire automotive value chain, including vehicle assembly, components manufacturing, wiring systems, interior fittings and electric vehicle technologies. This diversification, according to BMI, enhances the resilience and flexibility of Morocco’s industrial model.
The report adds that continued investor confidence demonstrates Morocco’s ability to attract long-term investments despite global challenges such as supply chain volatility and geopolitical uncertainty. It also highlights Morocco’s advantages over Egypt, notably the coherence of its export-oriented model, regulatory stability and capacity to secure sustainable automotive investments.
Beyond investment flows, Morocco achieved a major milestone in 2025 by overtaking South Africa to become Africa’s largest car producer. Production exceeded one million vehicles by December 2025, far ahead of South Africa’s output of around 596,818 units.
According to Business Insider, the gap between Morocco and South Africa had been narrow in 2024, when Morocco produced about 559,645 vehicles compared with South Africa’s 515,976. The sharp divergence in 2025 marked the first year in which Morocco clearly broke South Africa’s long-standing dominance in the sector.
The same source reports that Morocco’s automotive production surged by 79 percent in 2025 compared with 2024, while South Africa recorded growth of just 15.7 percent over the same period.
Business Insider attributes Morocco’s rapid growth to a supportive industrial environment, incentive-based government policies and improved access to competitively priced sustainable energy. By contrast, South Africa continues to rely on fossil fuels for around 80–85 percent of its electricity generation.
The production leap has further strengthened Morocco’s position as a preferred destination for global automotive manufacturers, including Renault and Stellantis. Morocco has also made inroads into the electric vehicle market, having produced the Opel Rocks-e in 2021, with full local production of the fully electric “Dial-E” vehicle expected to begin in January 2026.
