Stellantis to expand Moroccan production capacity

Stellantis is set to double the production capacity of its plant in Morocco in the next few months. This could give it the ability to produce up to 535,000 vehicles at the Kenitra facility annually.

The plant reached an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles back in 2020, but Reuters reports this is set to more than double to 535,000 vehicles over the next few months. This follows a €1.2bn euro expansion of the plant.

It’s important to note that the plant does not only produce EVs, but also ICE vehicles. Stellantis plans to use the site to produce 350,000 engines per year, a process which started in May when the company began assembling new mild hybrids there. However, the expanded plant will be also used to produce full BEVs – in particular, the company’s series of superminis.

Stellantis’ COO for the Middle East and Africa Samir Cherfan said this will encompass vehicles such as the Citroen Ami, the Opel Rocks-e, and the Fiat Topolino. In January, annual production of these models increased from 20,000 units up to 70,000. And, this month, the plant will be used to produce a new range of three-wheeled EVs. This includes the new Fiat Professional TRIS, an electric rickshaw-style vehicle designed for last-mile logistics. At its launch, Fiat revealed that the three wheeler would only debut in the MEA region, but that this could be expanded to Europe in future.

The site will also be used to produce electric charging stations with a projected output of 204,000 units, although further technical details are yet to be provided.

Morocco’s minister of industry Ryad Mezzour said the expansion will help the country produce more than 1 million vehicles annually nationwide, although it’s not clear how many of these will be BEVs.

reuters.com, moroccoworldnews.com