São Paulo – Fipar Holding, a subsidiary of Moroccan company Caisse de Depot et de Gestion (CDG), is going to own a 47.6% stake in a unit to be built by the French carmaker Renault in Tangiers, in the Arab country. The information was disclosed by the African press and also by the CDG. According to the Moroccan company, the measure is part of the company’s commitment to ensure the implementation of the industrial complex, which is being called Renault Tangiers Mediterranean.
Renault already has a manufacturing unit in Morocco, in the city of Casablanca, and the new plant will enable the carmaker to complete its local production of economic vehicles of the Logan platform. The plant will demand investment of 600 million euros and should generate 6,000 direct jobs, in addition to 30,000 indirect ones. The unit will be located in a plot with 314 hectares and will have production capacity for 400,000 vehicles per year. In 2012, the year in which it should start operating, however, 170,000 units should be made.
According to the local press, the initiative puts an end to doubts concerning the continuation of the project in Morocco, as Nissan, Renault’s partner, has suspended investment early this year. Renault is the Moroccan automobile market leader, with sales of approximately 30,000 vehicles per year and a market share of 16.9%. Vehicle sales in the Arab country total around 100,000 units per year and there are 1.5 million vehicles in circulation, with an average fleet age of nine to ten years.
CDG, which owns Fipar, is a Moroccan public financial institution. It was established in 1959 and its role is to receive, store and manage savings funds. The company holds 35% of local savings and manages 100 billion dirhans (US$ 12 billion). CDG is also the leading investor in the country. Apart from direct investment, it also invests in the economy through its branches and subsidiaries, which operate in various sectors. One of the goals of the institution is to collaborate with the development of Morocco.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
