Stellantis has launched its first vehicle dismantling centre in the Middle East and Africa region, opening a €1.6 million facility in Casablanca, Morocco. The site is the third such centre in Stellantis' global network after Turin in Italy and São Paulo in Brazil, and serves as a structural anchor for the company's broader circular economy activities across the region. The opening reinforces Stellantis' strategy of building dedicated regional infrastructure to extend vehicle and parts lifecycles rather than relying on third-party dismantling networks.

 

Site Specifications and Operating Profile

 

The Casablanca facility covers a 6,000 square metre site and is designed to dismantle up to 10,000 vehicles annually at full capacity. Once fully operational, the centre is expected to generate around 150 direct and indirect jobs, providing a meaningful employment contribution within Morocco's industrial base. Vehicles will be sourced from insurance companies, auctions and end-of-life vehicle channels, ensuring a diverse and steady feedstock for dismantling operations.

Core activities at the site include end-of-life vehicle sourcing, dismantling, used parts sales and collection of materials for recycling. The structured operational design is intended to capture maximum value from each vehicle, including selected used product families such as traction batteries that are increasingly significant for the broader battery circularity ecosystem. The Casablanca centre is the first dismantling facility of its kind launched by an automaker in Morocco, setting a benchmark for structured end-of-life vehicle management in the country.

 

Strategic Role of the SUSTAINera Business Unit

 

The Casablanca centre forms part of Stellantis' SUSTAINera division, the company's dedicated circular economy business unit responsible for remanufacturing, repair, reuse and recycling solutions across the Stellantis aftermarket. SUSTAINera operates on the principle of the 4Rs and is designed to deliver sustainable products and services without compromising on quality. The structure provides a single industrial framework for circular economy activities that span manufacturing, parts distribution and end-of-life management.

Jean Christophe Bertrand, Senior Vice President for Stellantis Middle East and Africa Parts and Services, said circular economy is a concrete way to deliver value to customers by extending the lifespan of vehicles and parts while optimising resources. He emphasised that SUSTAINera is industrialising a strategy designed to be scalable, efficient and accessible without compromising on quality. The framing positions the unit as a long-term commercial business rather than a peripheral sustainability initiative.

 

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Why Morocco and the Regional MEA Strategy

 

Morocco plays a specific role within Stellantis' MEA roadmap as an industrial reference point, anchored by the country's existing manufacturing base, logistics infrastructure and trade access to neighbouring markets. The Casablanca centre is designed to serve Morocco and Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly West Africa, where formal end-of-life vehicle systems remain underdeveloped. By establishing a compliant industrial-scale facility, Stellantis is creating a template for structured ELV management that can be replicated across the region.

The site also supports the development of a regional ecosystem aligned with Stellantis standards and local compliance requirements. Samir Cherfan, Chief Operating Officer for Middle East and Africa and Global Head of Micromobility at Stellantis, said circular economy is a strategic priority for the company in the region because it combines industrial performance, customer affordability and responsible resource use. The framing aligns the initiative with broader corporate objectives around long-term industrial footprint security in MEA.

 

Customer and Aftermarket Benefits

 

The deployment of circular economy activities in MEA is intended to deliver tangible benefits across multiple stakeholder groups, beginning with more affordable parts and services through reuse and remanufacturing offers under the SUSTAINera brand. Lower-cost original parts can extend the operating life of vehicles in markets where new components may be unaffordable for many vehicle owners. This affordability dimension is particularly important in emerging markets where the average vehicle age is higher and used parts demand is correspondingly larger.

The strategy also delivers optimised resource use through responsible recovery of materials from end-of-life vehicles, alongside a structured and traceable ecosystem aligned with Stellantis standards. Distribution channels include the company's aftersales network, partner repairers, Distrigo hubs and the B-Parts platform, providing multiple commercial routes to market for circular economy products. Sales of remanufactured parts, used original parts and recycling and ELV partnerships together form a comprehensive offering that competes directly with new parts in cost-sensitive segments.

 

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Industrial and Commercial Partnership Network

 

To accelerate scale and compliance, Stellantis relies on a structured ecosystem of industrial and commercial partners across MEA, ensuring operational efficiency, traceability and local value creation. This partnership-based model allows the company to extend its circular economy footprint without bearing the full capital burden of building dismantling and recycling infrastructure in every market. It also embeds Stellantis within local industrial economies, creating value for partner businesses alongside the company's own commercial operations.

The combination of dedicated facilities such as Casablanca and an extended partner network creates a hybrid operating model that balances industrial control with regional reach. As the network expands, Stellantis is positioned to meet rising regulatory expectations on end-of-life vehicle management while capturing increasing aftermarket revenue from circular product flows. The model also supports compliance with evolving extended producer responsibility frameworks expected to reach more MEA markets over time.

 

Outlook for Automotive Circular Economy in MEA

 

The opening of the Casablanca centre marks a concrete step in the broader deployment of automotive circular economy infrastructure in regions that have historically lacked formal ELV management systems. As the global automotive industry moves toward greater material circularity, particularly for battery materials and critical minerals, regional dismantling centres are expected to become strategic assets for major manufacturers. Stellantis' early investment in MEA establishes a competitive position that may be difficult for peers to replicate quickly.

Whether the Casablanca facility scales to its full 10,000-vehicle annual capacity will depend on ELV feedstock availability, regulatory development and customer adoption of remanufactured and used parts. Sustained execution would reinforce Stellantis' position as a leader in automotive circular economy across MEA. The model also offers a template for other regions where structured ELV management remains an underdeveloped but increasingly important component of the automotive value chain.

 

Source: Stellantis