Moroccan spending on importing passenger cars and their accessories exceeded 40.525 billion dirhams during the first seven months of the current year. This amount is divided between 20.8 billion dirhams allocated for purchasing passenger cars and 19.7 billion dirhams for related accessories and equipment.
According to the Exchange Office in its July 2025 report, the figures indicate stability in spending on car accessories compared to the same period in 2024, when it reached 19.2 billion dirhams. However, expenditures on purchasing passenger cars saw a notable increase of over 6 billion dirhams, rising from approximately 14.8 billion dirhams in July of the previous year.
This significant rise in imported passenger cars is putting direct pressure on the trade balance and contributing to the depletion of the country’s foreign currency reserves. This situation could negatively impact the state’s financing capability, especially in light of currency exchange fluctuations and unstable global economic conditions.
This trend can be explained by several key factors, foremost among them is the decline in consumer confidence in the national used car market or the lack of diversity in local offerings. The car market, whether new or used, is experiencing a prolonged crisis linked to supply chain issues and skyrocketing car prices. Additionally, the lack of sufficient local supply is driving consumers to import electric and hybrid cars from abroad, particularly from Europe and China. Furthermore, car dealers have turned to direct imports following the easing or adaptation of some customs restrictions, given that the diversity, strength, and pricing of foreign offerings continue to attract Moroccan consumers.
The current reality suggests that this increase may lead to higher demand for foreign currencies since importing cars is conducted in dollars or euros, thereby exacerbating the trade balance deficit and weakening the dirham against major currencies, which in turn affects the prices of imported goods overall.
In addition, this trend undermines efforts to develop the national car market, especially as local car manufacturers may struggle to compete with imported goods, particularly in the face of increased interest in foreign luxury or electric brands. Moreover, the rise in car imports also reflects a shift in consumption patterns among a segment of citizens towards acquiring high-value goods, which increases non-productive consumer demand, especially when these purchases do not generate sufficient local added value, deepening the gap between local spending and national production.
