Sales of new cars in Morocco amounted to 175,360 units in 2021, up 5.7% compared to 2019, announced Thursday, Adil Bennani, president of the Association of Importers of Motor Vehicles in Morocco (AIVAM).
By segment, the number of new registrations of passenger vehicles (VP) was 154,123 units, up 4%, while that of light commercial vehicles (LCV) was 21,237 units (+20%), said Bennani at a virtual press conference devoted to the 2021 report and the prospects of the automotive market in 2022.
The brand "Dacia" still dominates the segment of VP, with a market share of 28.6%, or 44,029 new registrations, followed by Renault which has sold 20,386 new units (market share of 13.2%), Peugeot (12,230 vehicles and market share of 7.9%) and Hyundai (12,008 units and 7.8% market share).
This segment was marked by the good recovery of the brand Kia whose sales amounted to 4,345 units, up 174%, as well as the good performance of the brand Opel which saw its sales reach 6,964 vehicles (+80%), said Bennani.
With 31.4% market share, the SUV segment dominates sales at the level of private vehicles, while the city segment (26.3% market share) remains the second largest sales volume.
By city, Casablanca has monopolized 39.2% of VP sales, before Rabat (11.8%) and Agadir (8.1%), he added, noting that Tangier and Kenitra show very strong growth rates under the impetus of industrial clusters.
As for light commercial vehicles (LCV), the brand Dongfeng Sokon (DFSK) has increased its sales by 108% to 4,074 units, while Renault and Ford have recorded, respectively, 3,291 and 2,029 new registrations.
"Given the situation of the tourism sector and despite a good performance of personnel transport, the minibus segment is experiencing a decline of 15.6% compared to 2019," said the president of AIVAM, adding that the Pick Up segment continues to grow with an increase of 42.2%, driven by the Small Pick Up.
Regarding sales of "premium" cars, Audi is ranked first with 3,506 units sold in 2021 (+60%), ahead of BMW with 3,037 vehicles (+31%) and Mercedes (2,535 down 10%).
"Despite the increase in sales in 2021, the catch-up effect of the year 2020 remains limited," he noted, adding that the shortage of semiconductors prevented the market from reaching its historical record in 2021.
As for the outlook for the year 2022, Bennani anticipated a growth ranging from 5% to 15%, depending on the availability of stocks, noting that the crisis of semiconductors is not over, given the strong demand from other sectors and the persistence of the pandemic.
He added that the constraints induced by the health crisis pose great risks to production capacity worldwide, as well as the economic recovery.
