Morocco’s automotive exports reached 42 billion dirhams (US$4.57 billion) at the end of March 2026, marking a 12.1 percent increase compared with the same period last year, according to official data released Wednesday, underscoring the continued expansion of the country’s industrial export base.
Figures published by the Foreign Exchange Office showed that Morocco’s export performance was supported mainly by strong gains in the automotive and aeronautics sectors, which offset declines in several traditional industries.
The automotive sector, now the country’s leading export engine, continued to benefit from growing integration into global supply chains. Within the sector, the construction segment recorded a sharp increase of 23.7 percent to 16.88 billion dirhams (US$1.83 billion), while the wiring segment rose 10.9 percent to 16.04 billion dirhams (US$1.74 billion).
Officials and industry analysts have long pointed to Morocco’s competitive labor costs, proximity to Europe and expanding industrial zones as key factors behind the sector’s expansion. The country has become a major production hub for automotive wiring systems, seating components and vehicle assembly destined primarily for European markets.
The aeronautics industry also posted solid growth, with exports rising 12.6 percent to nearly 8 billion dirhams (US$871 million). According to the data, the performance was driven by a strong increase in the assembly segment, which rose 18.6 percent, while the Electrical Wiring Interconnection System (EWIS) segment recorded a more modest gain of 1.6 percent.
More Read
The sector, though smaller than automotive, has steadily expanded over the past decade as Morocco has sought to diversify its industrial base beyond traditional exports such as phosphates and agriculture. Aerospace clusters around Casablanca and other industrial hubs have attracted foreign investment and supported the development of specialized manufacturing skills.
Despite these positive results, several key export sectors experienced declines during the first quarter of 2026, reflecting uneven external demand conditions.
Textile and leather exports fell sharply by 14.1 percent, while phosphates and derivatives, historically one of Morocco’s most important export categories, declined by 7.4 percent. The electronics and electricity sector dropped 4.7 percent, and agriculture and agri-food exports contracted by 2.3 percent.
More Read
The declines in these sectors were attributed by analysts to weaker demand in key international markets and increased global competition, particularly in low-value manufacturing and commodity-based exports.
Overall, Morocco’s total exports rose 3.3 percent to 120.7 billion dirhams ($13.1 billion) by the end of March, indicating what the Foreign Exchange Office described as a “resilient export structure” increasingly driven by high-value manufacturing industries.
The contrasting performance between modern industrial sectors and traditional exports highlights a structural transformation in Morocco’s economy, which has in recent years prioritized industrialization, export diversification and foreign investment.
Government strategies have focused heavily on positioning Morocco as a regional industrial platform linking Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Large-scale infrastructure investments, including port expansions such as Tanger Med, have helped facilitate export growth by improving logistics and reducing shipping times to European markets.
However, economists caution that reliance on a narrow group of high-performing sectors could expose the economy to external shocks, particularly in the automotive and aerospace industries, which are closely tied to European demand cycles.
They also note that sustaining long-term export growth will require continued investment in skills development, research and development, and greater integration of local suppliers into global value chains.
More Read
Still, the latest figures reinforce Morocco’s position as one of Africa’s most industrially diversified economies, with manufacturing now playing an increasingly central role in driving export performance alongside traditional resource-based sectors.
