Nexteer Automotive, a Michigan-based automotive parts supplier, is building a new production facility in Kenitra. The Morocco plant will be used to manufacture Single Pinion-assist Electric Power Steering (SPEPS) systems with the objective of extending production to driveline products, reports Automobilwoche. The 18,000 m2 plant will be inaugurated in March, as the first Africa facility of the American company while production is expected to start in 2019. The construction of Nexteer's new facility in Kenitra comes as the firm signed in July 2017 a Memorandum of Understanding with the Moroccan government. Another official agreement was later signed by King Mohammed VI, Moroccan government officials and Nexteer Automotive representatives on December the 11th 2017 in Casablanca. «By establishing a new facility in Morocco, we are strategically aligned with our global customers' needs. This location will also allow us to expand our geographic operations' reach in both Africa and Europe», said Hervé Boyer, vice-president and chief operating officer Europe and South America Division at Nexteer. «We are appreciative of the Moroccan authorities' cooperative approach and their plans for infrastructure development», he added. Nexteer Automotive is not the only firm that has been eying Kenitra as a location for its plant. PSA Peugeot Citroen, a French car maker is building the PSA Kenitra plant, which will be located in Ameur Seflia, Kenitra Province. The facility is expected to be operational by 2020 and promises an annual output of approximately 200,000 cars.
