2023-10-06 05:42:00
It is in the middle of these arid expanses, lined with palm trees and wind turbines, that Plastic Omnium is experiencing a transition: that of the old automotive world of thermal engines to that of electric ones. The equipment manufacturer chose Tangier in Morocco to install two factories located a few kilometers from each other. The first has been producing fuel tanks for Renault and Stellantis since 2010. The second, launched in 2018, manufactures car lights.
In the country’s first free zone, the gasoline tank factory stands out as a resistance. At a time when many equipment manufacturers are gradually abandoning their production, Plastic Omnium has chosen to continue at full strength in this market.
“We are going to compensate for the drop in demand by increasing market share. The objective is to benefit from our leading position to increase our market share, from 22% today to 30% in 2028,” reassures Laurent Favre, the company director, ahead of the factory visit. .
Inside, the blower does most of the work, modulating the huge tank part which will then undergo sealing and verification tests. Except for a few pipes, this tank is the same, from a Dacia Sandero to a Peugeot 208. The interior is confined, almost narrow, and only around a hundred people produce the approximately 460,000 tanks.
Read also “I can’t imagine Europe exporting electric cars” (Laurent Favre, Plastic Omnium)
Lighting becomes the new trend for manufacturers
Just a stone’s throw away, the car light production plant, purchased from the Varroc company in 2022, brings together the future of the automobile industry. Almost entirely robotic, it has 63 different headlight castings and produces 3 million parts per year. It can expand, but prefers to stay at a capacity below 100%, we are told, preferring to invest in the agility of the machines in order to adapt to customer needs. Diffusion of light according to the environment, projection on the ground, design… Everything is a reason to sell more expensively.
“Lighting is the new differentiating factor from electric, since everything no longer depends on the engine. From now on, design has regained power over mechanics,” confirms Gérald Mentil, general manager of the lighting activity at Plastic Omnium.
In the factory, only the deafening noise of the machines recalls the old world. But the almost surgical attention to detail of the operators at each manufacturing station, and the multiple conformity checks underline the growing importance of these new parts.
“Today, the fashion is for a single rear light with an LED strip which also illuminates the logo. This type of lighting costs two to three times more than traditional lights. explains Gérald Mentil. Here, nearly 800 people are working around this new segment, 8 times more than in the tank factory.
Partnerships with Tesla and BYD
And tomorrow, lighting should also integrate artificial intelligence. Soon, it will be possible to project any type of information you want on the ground or in the car, for safety or pleasure. The other advantage of these new parts lies in the ease of export. The Tangier factory delivers the majority of its headlights to European factories. And soon, this new diversification of the equipment manufacturer will allow it to accelerate its partnerships with new customers, starting with the American Tesla. The latter, eager for new things, seeks above all to manufacture his cars more quickly, by nesting entire blocks inside each other, like large Legos.
To do this, Tesla asked equipment manufacturers to manufacture the lights directly integrated into the bumpers. “ We are, to date, among the last two still on the negotiating table with them”affirme-t-on chez Plastic Omnium
Read alsoPlastic Omnium posts turnover up 35% driven by hydrogen and electric
The group has nine other lighting factories located around the world, including a strategic one located in Monterrey, Mexico, next to the Tesla factories. Car lights should represent around 2 billion euros in turnover for the group by 2030. In addition to Tesla, Plastic Omnium is increasingly working with Chinese brands such as MG, Nio, Link&Co and giant BYD even if “ for the moment, he prefers to manufacture most of his parts in-house”admits Laurent Favre.
Hydrogen, another sector of diversification for Plastic Omnium, should reach 3 billion euros within 7 years. Together, these new segments will provide a third of the group’s turnover in 2030. Above all, if lighting makes it possible to attract new manufacturers, hydrogen opens up a whole new market: that of heavy mobility. An essential perspective for the general manager, for whom the future of the car seems sealed in advance: “To In my opinion, we are going to reach a production plateau. »
Kenitra, the link between past and future
But Plastic Omnium’s cash cow remains bumpers. In the third Plastic Omnium factory, in Kénitra, near Rabat, the two automotive worlds intersect. On the one hand comes the Peugeot 208, with a thermal engine and available in 210 different modulations. “ The desired model is requested 3 hours in advance, according to the customer’s needs »explains Mustapha Boulakhrif, the technical director of the factory.
An agility which contrasts with the opposite part of the factory, which produces the Citroën Ami and the Opel Rock-e as well as the Fiat Topolino, three almost identical models. These vehicles, all assembled like Legos, are electric, light, not very modular and limited to 50 km/h. Models presented according to several researchers as the future of the electric car in the city.
The group is also working on further integration of digitalization and long-range radar (LIDAR) systems in bumpers in order to meet the ever-increasing demands for car autonomy.
Read alsoAfter Morocco, Stellantis invests 200 million euros in Algeria to establish its position in Africa
This Kenitra factory could well grow in the years to come, since Stellantis, which has a production factory opposite, has announced doubling its production capacity by 2030. Morocco has been able to attract, over the years, all the automotive industry thanks to its proximity to Europe, its competitive workforce and its very low energy costs. In the future, the country dreams of becoming a world leader in the automobile industry, and seeks to attract Tesla and Chinese gigafactories to its territory.
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