The automobile has also been taken into account in the omnibus decree approved last Tuesday by the Government and which came into force today. The rule includes a relaxation of the deadlines so that the beneficiary companies of the first delivery of the Perte of the electric and connected vehicle (VEC) can request a postponement of the deadline for execution of the winning projects. Until now, the maximum limit to have them completed was September 30, 2025, but with the modification of the decree it is extended by thirty more months, that is, until the beginning of 2028.
The Ministry of Industry has introduced these modifications to the standard to equalize the execution times of the first delivery of the automobile Perte with those of the second. Among the companies that can request this extension of the deadline are Seat, which received 397 million in the initial call; Mercedes, with a 170 million subsidy; Opel, Renault, Sapa or Peugeot, among others. All of them presented tractor projects and now they will have to justify the reasons why they demand the extension of execution times. Interested parties will have to do so explicitly, indicating for which projects and reasoned reasons for their subsequent evaluation.
Industry sources explain that “the impact on supply chains, the semiconductor crisis and the different consequences derived from the war in Ukraine have mainly motivated the extension of the execution times planned at the beginning.” The rigidity of the deadlines once led Ford to renounce aid.
The decision has been well received in automobile companies. The general director of the Anfac employers’ association, José López-Tafall, states that “the bases of the first call were very demanding and affected major industrial decisions in a context of high technological uncertainty and, also, geostrategic competition for new investments. industrial”. The business organization describes the decision as “logical”, even more so after the European Commission has dedicated greater efforts to strengthening strategic competitiveness.
“We are entering a crucial moment for the Spanish automotive industry and it is essential that all of the funds designated in the Perte VEC are allocated to the investment, development and future implementation of projects that consolidate us as a hub for electromobility,” adds López. -Tafall.
In the preamble to the omnibus decree, the Government explains the problems that have plagued the automobile industry, which represents 10% of GDP, according to Anfac. The Executive cites the “bottlenecks in the value chain, essentially in the field of batteries,” and the “current problems in the supply of raw materials.”
The omnibus decree, which needs to be validated in Congress in January, also extends the execution deadlines for aid called for the tourism sector within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. Specifically, it grants a longer period, until September 30, 2024, to complete these actions to digitalize the country’s main industry.
The Government explains that it makes this decision because the current deadline allowed by the order of bases and call for 2022 “is very constrained to carry out the projects and a delay can put at risk the execution and fulfillment of milestones and committed objectives. ”.