Hyundai Motor to supply 15 Elec City electric buses to Marrakech

Hyundai Motor will supply its domestically produced electric buses to Morocco for the first time, with 15 large Elec City buses set to operate on city routes in Marrakech — Morocco's premier tourism destination — starting next year.

Hyundai Motor announced Tuesday that it will deliver 15 Elec City buses to Marrakech in partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

The delivery is part of an eco-friendly electric bus transit development project jointly pursued by KOICA and the city of Marrakech, carried out through Official Development Assistance (ODA) — a framework through which governments and public institutions support the economic and social development of developing countries.

Hyundai Motor and KOICA held a domestic handover ceremony Monday at Hyundai Motor's Jeonju factory in Wanju-gun, North Jeolla Province. Attendees included Hyundai Motor Commercial Product Division Executive Vice President Lee Seung-min, KOICA Regional Business Division 2 Director Do Young-a and Moroccan Ambassador to South Korea Chafik Rachadi.

The Elec City buses being supplied mark the first domestically produced electric buses to enter Morocco. All 15 will be deployed on city bus routes serving Marrakech's major tourist districts.

The project goes beyond simply delivering vehicles. KOICA will also supply fast chargers and other infrastructure needed to operate the electric buses. Operational and maintenance training, as well as technical cooperation, will be provided to ensure the buses can be reliably run and serviced locally.

Morocco's push to cut carbon emissions in the transportation sector also underpins the project. The Moroccan government is pursuing a low-carbon transition across the energy, industrial and transportation sectors, with a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 45.5 percent from business-as-usual projections by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

KOICA plans to support the electrification of public transit as a means of reducing carbon emissions and urban air pollution in Marrakech.

Of the 15 buses, Hyundai Motor unveiled the first two completed units at Monday's domestic handover ceremony. The remaining vehicles will be produced and shipped before all 15 are sent to Morocco. A local handover ceremony in Marrakech is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.

Hyundai Motor also intends to use the project as an opportunity to assess the viability of electric commercial vehicles in the North African market. Operating the buses under Marrakech's actual conditions — including its climate and road environment — will allow the company to gauge local demand.

"This project will serve as a meaningful example of expanding the potential for public transit electrification through electric buses," said Park Cheol-yeon, head of Hyundai Motor's Global Commercial & LCV Business Division. "Hyundai Motor will provide eco-friendly commercial mobility suited to the operating conditions of diverse regions and contribute to building a sustainable transportation environment together with our partner organizations."

"We hope this electric bus support will help spread eco-friendly public transit in Morocco and contribute to sustainable urban development," said Do Young-a, KOICA's Regional Business Division 2 director. "We look forward to seeing Korean electric vehicles make further inroads into Morocco and the broader North African region on the back of Hyundai Motor's Elec City supply."

"The introduction of Hyundai Motor's eco-friendly electric buses to Marrakech — the host city of COP22 and one of Morocco's leading economic and cultural centers — carries great symbolic significance," said Moroccan Ambassador Chafik Rachadi. "I hope this project not only contributes to Morocco's carbon neutrality goals and improves transportation convenience for its citizens, but also serves as a new starting point for cooperation between Korea and Morocco in pursuit of sustainable urban mobility."