Takeaways

• Stellantis has opened its first vehicle dismantling center in the Middle East and Africa region in Casablanca, Morocco.
• The facility will support vehicle recycling, reusable parts sales, and end-of-life vehicle management across Morocco and Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The project highlights the growing role of the automotive circular economy in reducing waste, lowering repair costs, and extending vehicle life.

Stellantis has launched a new vehicle dismantling and recycling center in Casablanca, marking a major step in the company’s efforts to expand its circular economy operations across the Middle East and Africa (MEA).

The facility, backed by an investment of €1.6 million (around $1.8 million), is the automaker’s first dismantling center in the MEA region and the first automaker-led operation of its kind in Morocco. It also becomes Stellantis’ third global dismantling site after facilities in Italy and Brazil.

The new Casablanca hub will operate under SUSTAINera, Stellantis’ business unit focused on remanufacturing, repair, reuse, and recycling activities. The initiative forms part of the company’s broader strategy to keep vehicles and materials in use for longer while reducing industrial waste.

Read More: 8 Circular Economy & Waste Management Solutions Transforming Sustainability

Samir Cherfan, Chief Operating Officer for Stellantis Middle East & Africa, said circular economy practices are becoming increasingly important for the company’s long-term industrial plans in the region. He noted that the strategy combines resource efficiency, customer affordability, and industrial growth.

The Casablanca facility is expected to serve Morocco as well as several Sub-Saharan African markets, particularly in West Africa. Stellantis said the center will source end-of-life vehicles from insurance companies, auctions, and existing recycling channels before dismantling them for reusable parts and recyclable materials.

At full operational capacity, the site will be able to process up to 10,000 vehicles annually. The project is also expected to create around 150 direct and indirect jobs.

The company plans to use the center to expand access to affordable used original parts through its after-sales network and online distribution channels. Recovered components will include selected product families such as traction batteries, an increasingly important segment as electric vehicle adoption grows globally.

Industry experts say initiatives like this can help formalize the often-unregulated end-of-life vehicle sector in emerging markets. Structured recycling and recovery systems can improve material traceability while reducing waste leakage from discarded vehicles.

Jean Christophe Bertrand, Senior Vice President for Parts & Services in the Middle East and Africa, said the company aims to industrialize circular economy operations through scalable systems built around the “4Rs”: Remanufacturing, repair, reuse, and recycling.

The project also strengthens Morocco’s position as a growing industrial and automotive hub in the region. By hosting the country’s first automaker-led dismantling center, Casablanca is expected to play a larger role in shaping formal end-of-life vehicle management systems across MEA.

For Stellantis, the move reflects a broader shift in the automotive industry, where circular economy strategies are increasingly tied not only to sustainability goals but also to supply chain resilience, customer affordability, and long-term business growth.

Also Read: Top 10 Sustainable Businesses: Inspiring Practices for 2026

As vehicle ownership rises across African and Middle Eastern markets, automakers are placing greater focus on how vehicles are repaired, reused, recycled, and managed at the end of their lifecycle. The Casablanca center could become a model for future regional expansion as the industry looks to build more sustainable automotive ecosystems.

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Source: ESG NEWS