Sentury to build $300m tire plant in Morocco

Shenzhen, China – Qingdao Sentury Tire Co. has unveiled plans to build a $297 million (€280 million) high-performance car and light truck radial tires manufacturing plant in Morocco.

In a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on 31 Dec 2022, the Chinese tire maker said the move was part of its ‘833plus’ expansion strategy which aims to build “eight digital tire intelligent manufacturing bases” around the world over a decade.

The Sentury (Morocco) project will be built in Tangier and will have an annual output of 6 million high-performance car and light truck radial tires, said the company announcement.

The tire maker expects the construction of the project to be completed in 18 months with the output in the first year of operation reaching 3.6 million pieces.

Ramp-up to full production is expected in the second year of operation, the statement added, without giving a date for the start of construction work on the project. 

Sentury said the project will be financed through ‘self-raised funds’ and is expected to realise operating income of $210 million, total profit of $51.88 million, and total investment yield of 17.48% in normal operation years.

Explaining the reasons behind the investment, Sentury said the existing production capacity at its factories in Qingdao, China and Rayong, Thailand, could “no longer meet the growing order needs of customers.”

The tire maker said it selected Morocco as its investment location, as the country offered a stable political and economic environment and “an excellent geographical location” in terms of proximity to Europe.

“Morocco is located at the northwestern tip of Africa… [and] is a hub connecting the three major markets of the European Union, the Middle East and Africa,” it said.

Furthermore, the country provides “favourable investment conditions” as well as good foreign trade policies, low investment costs, and close economic and trade relations with European and American markets.