French automotive giant PSA Peugeot Citroen announced it will build a $632 million car factory in Morocco with an annual production capacity of 90,000 units.
The plant, due to open in 2019 north of Rabat, will address “the needs of the region and of Moroccan customers,” a company statement said. Chairman Carlos Tavares signed an official agreement with Moroccan Industry Minister Moulay Hafid Elalamy in the presence of King Mohammed VI at his palace in the capital.
The group said the plant will assemble engines and vehicles in the compact and midsize segment, the mainstay of Morocco’s car industry.
“With a capacity of 90,000 engines and vehicles to begin with, this industrial unit will eventually produce 200,000 units a year, when demand requires,” the statement said.
Alamy said the new factory would create 4,500 full-time jobs and provide indirect employment for up to 20,000 workers. Peugeot said it was “preparing the conditions to realize its commercial ambition [to produce] a million vehicles in the Middle East and Africa region by 2025.”