Magna and Altran Technologies have launched a joint venture - under the name MG2 - in Casablanca, Morocco. The joint venture brings together Magna's complete vehicle know-how and process competence and Altran's strengths as a locally established partner. Approximately 500 engineers from the two companies will initially staff the joint venture company.

Magna's complete vehicle engineering and manufacturing group and Altran, a global leader in engineering and research and development services, each hold 50 per cent of the joint-venture company.

"Magna is able to further strengthen its competitive position by offering world-class engineering services in Morocco through this joint venture with Altran. The availability of strong engineering talent, proximity to Europe and growing OEM presence make Morocco an ideal location for this new engineering centre," said Karl Friedrich-Stracke, president Fahrzeugtechnik & Engineering Magna Steyr.

Morocco offers a low-cost base to produce vehicles for export to Europe. The country has a stated goal of building one million vehicles per year by 2025 and has been successful in attracting automakers and investment in new production plants to achieve that goal.

"Altran is thrilled to be moving forward with Magna to offer end-to-end development capabilities for the automotive industry, including design, manufacturing and system development, thus covering the complete value chain," said Meryem Chami, CEO, Altran Morocco.

Morocco is emerging as a competitive export-focused production base for global automakers. (SV)