Chinese EV battery maker Gotion mulls factory in Morocco

Morocco's government and China-based battery maker Gotion High Tech have agreed to look into setting up an electric vehicle battery plant in the kingdom with up to $6.3-billion in eventual investment, Morocco's investment agency said.

The agency, AMDIE, gave no details on when a final decision on the plant would go ahead but said the two sides were looking at a factory with a production capacity of 100 GW.

Moroccan officials have often pitched the kingdom as a good location for very large EV battery factories because of its existing automotive and renewable energy sectors and the presence of raw materials including cobalt and phosphates.

Morocco is home to production plants for Renault and Stellantis with a combined production capacity of 700 000 vehicles and a cluster of car part makers.

Demand for EV batteries is growing outside and within Morocco, where Citroen has a production capacity of 50 000 supermini electric cars.

Last year, the automotive sector topped Morocco's industrial exports with 111-billion dirhams ($11.1-billion), up 33 per cent from last year.