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The reindustrialisation of the old Nissan plant has been successfully completed, with the maintenance of industrial activity linked to electric mobility and with the aim of guaranteeing all jobs. This is the result of a complex process within the framework of the reindustrialisation table, which has had the participation of the Government of the Generalitat, together with the representatives of workers, public administrations and Nissan.
Specifically, the solution combines the presence of two electric vehicle manufacturers, the Electromobility Hub and Silence, with part of the logistics activity through the Goodman company, which has been awarded the management of the grounds of the Free Zone Silence has already started its activity in recent months, while the Hub will begin to carry out the first recruitments imminently. For its part, Nissan will maintain its design center in the area.
The projects that will occupy the Free Zone land are strategic for the country, linked to the Generalitat’s goal of reindustrialising Catalonia to generate quality jobs and shared prosperity.
The councilor of Empresa Treball, Roger Torrent i Ramió, assured that “the culmination of the reindustrialization process of Nissan reinforces the commitment to continue maintaining an automotive industry referring to the south of Europe, now adapted to the challenge of green mobility, essential to deal with the climate emergency”. In this sense, the councilor explained that this is also “great news for the auxiliary industry of the sector, especially the many SMEs that articulate this industrial fabric in our country”.
Torrent recalled that “this process, which has taken a lot to achieve, ends with agreements and commitments that respond to the 3 major objectives we had set for ourselves: the coverage of jobs, guaranteeing industrial continuity and doing so, in addition , with projects linked to sustainable mobility”.
The councilor made these statements in the act of ratification of the agreement on the reindustrialization of the Free Zone land occupied by the Nissan company, where the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism of the Government of Spain also intervened, Reyes Maroto Illera, and the special delegate of the State in the Barcelona Free Zone Consortium, Pere Navarro Morera.
The event was also attended by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Natàlia Mas i Guix, as well as the members of the reindustrialization table and representatives of Goodman, the Electromobility Hub and Silence.
The automotive sector has a very important weight in the Catalan economy. Specifically, it generates 150,000 direct and indirect jobs in Catalonia and generates a turnover of almost 25,000 million euros, a figure that represents more than 10% of the country’s GDP.
Currently, the mobility and automotive sector is in a situation of change and must face great challenges such as the vehicle connected to its environment; the autonomous vehicle; electromobility and the reduction of emissions; changes in mobility consumption patterns; the entry of new actors (artificial intelligence, big data, electronics and sensors, technological giants…); the digital transformation; and the competition for talent and the industrial and consumer power of China, among others.
