The struggle to take over the manufacture of electric cars does not stop. This Wednesday, Spain firmly defended the arrival at the Stellantis factory in Figueruelas (Zaragoza province) of the production of the Peugeot e-208 in the face of French pressure on the multinational to revoke its decision and transfer its manufacture to French soil. .
“The Zaragoza manufacturing plant has achieved quality, energy efficiency, productivity and social climate results that make it the most competitive candidate,” said the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Héctor Gómez.
He also asserted that the Spanish Government’s contact with manufacturers and major brands is “constant” and that it is necessary to work “with absolute discretion” so that this type of project comes to fruition. “Spain is an enormously attractive country for investment by different companies such as Stellantis, which already has three factories in our country (Zaragoza, Vigo and Madrid),” he added.
In the absence of official confirmation from the firm, everything is ready at the Zaragoza plant for the new model to start manufacturing next September, when the staff returns from the summer vacation. Currently, the assembly of the thermal Peugeot 208 is distributed between the Stellantis factories in Trnava (Slovakia) and Kenitra (Morocco), while the electric version is made exclusively in the first of these factories.
But in France they are not resigned to staying two sails. A few weeks ago, a French government source told the French economic daily Les Échos that the place of production “is still under discussion, and Stellantis’s decision is expected in November. It is a question of a lot of money and the State is considering possible subsidies”.
Last week, the French Economy Minister, Bruno Le Maire, upped the ante and asked the company for “patriotism” to bring the e-208 to French soil. Not in vain, France owns around 6% of the shareholding of the automobile group based in the Netherlands that emerged from the union between PSA and Fiat-Chrysler.
However, the CEO of the firm, Carlos Tavares, already spoke out against the relocation of the production of this model in a recent interview with Le Figaro in which he defended his refusal due to the lack of viability due to cost issues. . “The economic equation linked to the relocation of this project would not be of interest to either the company or the country,” he assured.
For her part, the acting Minister of Economy of the Government of Aragon, Marta Gastón, recently declared that her Executive has “absolute peace of mind” that the Figueruelas plant will produce the e-208 despite pressure from Paris.
“It is not the first time” that “political pressure” has arisen on the manufacture of vehicles in the Zaragoza plant, said the counselor, who wanted to make it clear that the awards made to the factory have always been based “on strictly business criteria.” “We trust that the criteria continue to be business and that there are no political interventions that divert the criteria from the company itself,” she added.
