As part of its global growth plan, Ford Motor is expanding its operations in North Africa with a new regional sales office in Casablanca and a purchasing office in Tangier.
Kalyana Sivagnanam, director, Ford Middle East and North Africa, said: “Morocco has a very skilled and motivated workforce, a growing automotive supplier ecosystem, access to ports, free and fair trade agreements and a very pro-business mindset. Ford is delighted to partner with Morocco to expand our operations in North Africa.”
Go deeper with GlobalData
Ford is bringing seven new vehicles to North Africa this year and will more than double the amount of parts it purchases from North African-based suppliers. The growing automotive supplier network in North Africa, primarily in Morocco, will supply parts to Ford’s assembly plant in Valencia, Spain, among other operations. Ford has completed a EUR2.3bn (US$2.50bn) investment in its Valencia plant – claimed as the largest automotive investment in Spanish history – allowing it to increase its volume and the number of nameplates it produces.
The upgraded facility can now produce 450,000 vehicles annually.
“In order to support our production expansion just across the Mediterranean in Valencia, the amount of parts Ford sources in Morocco and North Africa will increase exponentially,” added Sivagnanam. “This translates into thousands of indirect jobs and millions of dollars in investments,” he said.
“The most important part of this expansion is that we will be bringing more vehicles that customers want and value to markets across North Africa,” said Sivagnanam.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataFord is opening 13 new retail facilities in North Africa this year. In Morocco, Ford vehicles will be available at eight new showrooms by the end of 2015.
Morocco is the best-selling market for Ford in North Africa. Ford has sold 3,400 vehicles so far in 2015 in Morocco, an increase of 26% compared to January – April 2014. Ford expects its sales growth in 2015 to continue to outpace the industry growth rate of 11%.
