Neo Motors
- Nassim Belkhayat
- Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid
- Nassim Belkhayat (CEO)
Neo Motors is a Moroccan automobile manufacturing startup headquartered in Aïn El Aouda near Rabat, Morocco.[1] Founded in May 2018 by Nassim Belkhayat and Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, a prototype SUV was unveiled in May 2023 during a showcase to King Mohammed VI.[2][3] Neo Motors is the first homegrown automobile company in Morocco.[4] The company began delivering their first models in December 2023.[5][6]
History
Nassim Belkhayat began a project to manufacture fully Moroccan-made car in 2016.[7][8] The same year, a chassis based on the 1940 Jeep Willys was developed and designed for Neo Motors.[8][9] The project concretized in 2017, after Stellantis began the manufacturing of a car engine in the PSA Kénitra plant.[9][3] The company was registered in May 2018, and their chassis design was patented shortly afterwards.[8]
The production plant in Aïn El Aouda began construction in 2020. A car prototype underwent a crash test in 2022 and was subsequently approved by the National Agency for Road Safety in February 2023.[10][8] In May 2023, a prototype SUV was presented in the Royal Palace of Rabat, during a showcase of Moroccan-made vehicles to King Mohammed VI.[11][2] In June 2023, a model was presented at the GITEX Africa trade show in Marrakech.[10]
In November 2023, Belkhayat expressed a potential initial public offering at the Casablanca Stock Exchange as a future target.[4] In December 2023, the company delivered the first vehicles to customers during a ceremony attended by Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour and where they announced an extension of their Aïn El Aouda plant.[5][12]
Operations
The Neo Motors production plant is based in Aïn El Aouda, near Rabat, and currently has more than 50 employees and a production capacity of 5,000 units.[8][13] The company's goal is to manufacture a car fully made in Morocco, with a 65% integration rate and only with Moroccan-made parts or through moroccan suppliers.[9][3][14]
The engine is manufactured in Kénitra by Stellantis, the sheet metal by Maghreb Steel [fr] in Casablanca, the metal is bent at Technique Aciers before being welded by Socafix and the bodywork being made in Neo Motors' Aïn El Aouda plant.[9][8] The company signed an agreement with the Office of Vocational Training and Labor Promotion (OFPPT) to offer training in vehicle manufacturing.[12][15]
Models
The first model, a three-door model named NEO is made of fully recyclable fiberglass. This compact SUV, sold for 175,000 dirham (US$17,400) for a three-cylinder engine and for 185,000 dirham (US$18,400) for a four-cylinder engineMSRP.[16] The manual transmission car, has the patented chassis based on the 1940 Jeep Willys, and has a retractable hardtop roof.[10][9]
References
- ^ Nautylus, MA (2023-02-10). "Neo Motors Morocco - Headquarters". Google Maps. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
- ^ a b "Présentation à SM le Roi d'un modèle de la 1ère marque automobile grand public marocaine". Maroc.ma (in French). 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
- ^ a b c "«Vers un véhicule fiable, accessible et fabriqué localement»: les ambitions de Neo au Maroc". Arab News (in French). 2023-05-18. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
- ^ a b Karam, Souhail (2023-11-15). "Morocco's First Carmaker Plans IPO to Expand Into EV Production". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
- ^ a b "Neo Motors livre ses premiers véhicules et lance l'extension de son usine". Infomédiaire (in French). 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
- ^ "Remise des premiers véhicules de Neo Motors à leurs propriétaires". Le Desk (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-06.
- ^ ""Neo Motors" une success story 100% marocaine. Le point avec Nassim Belkhayat". Medi1 News (in French). 2023-05-16. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
- ^ a b c d e f Ben Hayoun, Moncef. "Neo Motors: les révélations de Nassim Belkhayat". Le Matin (in French). Retrieved 2023-06-08.
- ^ a b c d e Brequeville, Brian (2023-05-16). "Neo Motors : commercialisation, production, financement, prix, taux d'intégration... Ce que l'on sait". Medias24 Le Boursier (in French).
- ^ a b c Webster, Nick (2023-06-02). "How Morocco's answer to Volkswagen aims to drive economic prosperity". The National. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
- ^ "Automotive: Everything you need to know about NEO and HUV". L'Economiste (in French). 2023-05-18. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
- ^ a b "NEO MOTORS lance la commercialisation de sa voiture "NEO"". L'Economiste (in French). 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
- ^ كراخي, مراد; شافعي, محمد (2023-05-17). "من مصنع نيو موتورز.. هنا تُصنع أول سيارة مغربية". SNRT News (in Arabic).
- ^ Harrouchi, Mostapha (2023-05-24). "مصنع سيارة "نيو موتورز" المغربية تتلقى أول طلبية من السنغال". Le12.ma (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-06-07.
- ^ "Lancement de la commercialisation de la voiture NEO". Finance News Hebdo (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-02.
- ^ "Vehicles". NEO Motors.
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