Stellantis aims to become the market leader in the Middle East and Africa by 2030. To achieve this objective, the multinational automotive group is banking in particular on its facilities in Morocco.
In this vast and diverse region, full of potential, Stellantis, now ranked No. 2, has, according to its director of Middle East and Africa operations, Samir Cherfan, “solid assets, a full-fledged commercial network with more than 2,000 sales and after-sales points, a solid manufacturing network with nine factories, whose production capacity reached 750,000 units in 2023 years”.
The Middle East, Turkey, the Maghreb and South Africa are the main markets targeted by the Automotive Group, given that they have a total volume of 4 million units. In the Middle East, explains Mr. Cherfani, Stellantis aims to boost its sales by capitalizing on its star American brands such as Jeep and Ram. In South Africa, an important country with 37% of the regional market, the group will focus on the local production of a pick-up, 40% of the parts of which will come from India. “The stated objective is to achieve a market share of 22% by 2030, or one million vehicles sold,” said the Group manager who spoke at the Stellantis investor day organized on June 13.
Stellantis focuses on “deep localization”
To achieve its objective, Stellantis relies on a “deep localization” strategy, which is broken down into three fundamental pillars, namely highly qualified local personnel, production and sourcing firmly established in the region.
In terms of production, two major players in the automobile industry are expected to emerge as part of this strategy: Morocco and Turkey. “With labor costs almost comparable to those in force in China, these two countries will ensure 80% of production by 2027, or 800,000 vehicles, for a production capacity of 1 million units. In total, 17 ranges of cars covering all key segments (compact sedans, SUVs, utility vehicles, etc.) will be produced locally, in order to capture more than 90% of the profit potential,” says Samir Cherfani.
Regarding components, the local sourcing objective will also be strengthened, going from 35% to 90% by 2030. Thus, the objective of producing one million vehicles will be doubled by another consisting of more than 80% of components locally. A “win-win” strategy will allow the automobile manufacturer to reduce its costs while supporting regional economic development,” indicates the director of Middle East and Africa operations at Stellantis.
On the results side, the automobile group is targeting an operating profit on ordinary activities of 3 billion euros by 2030, compared to 2.5 billion in 2023. As for net revenues, these should increase from 10 billion euros in 2023 to 15 billion euros in 2030, including joint ventures.
