MOROCCO – Aston Martin, British independent manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers, has announced plans to open its first dealership in Morocco’s coastal city of Casablanca before the end of June.

According to Morocco World News, not only will the dealership be the first of the British carmaker’s in Morocco, but the first in North Africa.

Aston Martin said that it will open its showroom – a 400 square meters large off Casablanca’s Boulevard Sidi Abderrahmane- with “Global British Motors,” a subsidiary of the holding company Bugshan Maroc.

Currently, the closest Aston Martin dealerships to Morocco are in Portugal and Spain.

“Expanding our network into Morocco has been in the planning for some time and we are pleased to have found the right partner in Global British Motors,” said Aston Martin’s president for the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey region, Dan Balmer.

The general director of Global British Motors, Ahmed Kseibati, also expressed his pride “to be opening Aston Martin Lagonda’s first dealership in North Africa” and emphasized the dealership’s “very exclusive location on Boulevard Sidi Abderrahmane.”

“Aston Martin is greatly appreciated in Morocco and we look forward to sharing the brand with those in the capital with a passion for fine motoring,” Kseibati added.

Aston Martin’s Casablanca dealership will showcase the company’s new model, DBX. Balmer called the new model “arguably one of the most important models in our history.”

After a decade of tumbling sales figures in Europe, from a peak of nearly 4,000 sales in 2007 to just over 1,500 in 2016, Aston Martin’s sales have begun to bounce back.

In 2019, the company sold 2,590 cars, representing less than a 100th of a percent of the car market in Europe.

Aston Martin has announced plans to turn itself into a global luxury brand, and is increasingly branching out into projects including speed boats, bicycles, clothing and real estate development, even submarines and aircraft, mostly on a licensing basis.