Seat will invest another 300 million euros in its electrification plan to build a battery cell assembly plant in Martorell, the Spanish subsidiary of the Volkswagen group announced on Monday. It will generate 400 direct jobs and another 100 indirect jobs, it will supply the Catalan factory and it will be supplied with the cells from the Sagunt gigafactory.
The investment is presented to the new Perte VEC of batteries, endowed with 850 million, to qualify for public financing. The company hopes to receive a significant percentage of the investment in aid after the disappointment of the first phase of the Perte.
The plant will be connected to the workshop where some electric cars from the German group will be manufactured, such as the Cupra Raval. “We are going to invest an additional 300 million euros to build these facilities, where the cells that PowerCo will manufacture in the Sagunt gigafactory, Valencia, will also be assembled,” explained the president of Seat, Wayne Griffiths. It is “a project that will have an impact on more than 400 direct jobs and more than 100 indirect ones.”
The Generalitat has valued the announcement as “excellent news” that “guarantees the future of the company in Catalonia”, has assured the Minister of Business and Labor, Roger Torrent. “It is important in terms of the future and the transition to electric mobility”, he added, pointing out that the decision “has been possible due to the joint work between Seat and the Government”.
The plant will have some 64,000 square meters, with the start of works in the coming weeks and completion scheduled for 2025. “These facilities are essential for our company and also represent a boost to obtain a second platform in Martorell”, has raised Griffiths.
The manager has called on the authorities to “create a legal framework that ensures investment in the sector and promotes competitiveness”, promoting “sustainable mobility”. Betting on public-private collaboration, Seat has applauded the new 15% personal income tax deduction for the purchase of electric vehicles, although “it has to be accompanied by more investment to expand the charging infrastructure.”
As a whole, Seat’s electrification plan amounts to 10,000 million euros, “the largest industrial investment in the history of Spain,” it is assured. Some 3,000 million were destined for Martorell, to which 300 million more would now be added.
The project has been announced on the first day of the opening of the second call for the Perte, which will be open until September 15 or until the funds of 850 million planned aids are exhausted. “In these conditions, it is important to arrive first,” say business sources.
The interest of several companies is already known, such as the Slovak Inobat for Valladolid and which, according to what has been said, could invest up to 3,000 million in Spain. Likewise, the Chinese Envision has revitalized its project to build a plant in Navalmoral de la Mata, in Extremadura. Envision fell at the last minute of Perte’s first call.
