(RABAT) - Rapidly growing Asian exports could soon undermine France's 40 percent share of Morocco's car sales market, the head of Morocco's auto importers association told a national daily Thursday.

"Penetration by Asian manufacturers, Japanese and Korean, is growing all the time, and in four or five years, the Chinese will also be a force," Abderrahim Benkirane told Le Matin newspaper.

"The Moroccan market is historically a French market, and three French brands account for 40 percent of all sales. We can say it is a European market as well, but for how long?" he added.

Benkirane said Chinese models would need just 10-15 years to impose a serious market share, compared to 40 years for the Japanese or 25 for the Koreans.

In the same interview, the association president criticised a 32 percent import tax imposed on Asian autos -- given an accord with the European Union will see car import duties fall to zero percent in 2012.

Total auto sales in Morocco in 2007 broke through the 100,000 barrier for the first time, with 1.5 million believed to be in circulation, the cars having an average age of nine or 10 years.

Set against double-digit growth over the last five years, Benkirane predicted annual sales of 225,000 by 2015.

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