The long queues of electric cars at the charging points that were seen this Easter on the motorways show eloquently the delays that Spain suffers in the deployment of the infrastructures. It was recalled yesterday by the chief executive of Seat, Wayne Griffiths, who took advantage of the King’s visit to the company’s facilities in Martorell to warn once again that “the future of the automobile industry is at stake in Spain”. The also president of the association of car manufacturers Anfac said that “we need Spain to improve the recharging infrastructure and to give incentives to the purchase of electric cars”.
The requests were not only addressed to the Government of Spain – represented at the event by the Minister of Industry, Jordi Hereu -, but the chairman of the board of directors of Seat and member of the executive board of Volkswagen, Thomas Schäfer, he recalled that not only “the continuous support of the Spanish Government is crucial”, and he called on Europe to “bet on electromobility as a central lever to make the green deal a reality” [European Green Pact]. And he warned that “we urgently need a favorable and stable framework for investment”, in addition to recalling the threat that China represents to European manufacturers.
In two short speeches, the managers of Volkswagen and Seat insisted that the manufacturers are doing their part by investing huge amounts of money, while they showed the need for the administrations to sympathize with the process. “Our commitment to electrification and decarbonisation is clear and now we need the same commitment from the Spanish Government”, said Griffiths.
On this occasion, the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, was indeed present during the monarch’s visit, although he avoided greeting him at the formal event. And yet they sat together in the front row at the time of the speeches. The situation yesterday contrasts with that of March 2021, when Aragonès did not participate in the previous visit of Felipe VI to the first automotive company in Spain. The event was also attended by the Minister of Business, Roger Torrent, as well as the representatives of employers and unions. “We are united in this exciting and disruptive moment and we trust you. Please, don’t fail us, we can’t be left behind”, said Griffiths to the representatives of the administrations. And he reminded them that “there is no plan B” for the electric car.
According to the first executive of Seat, Spain is “falling behind” in sales of electric vehicles. The percentage of the total is 12%, compared to an EU average of 22.3%.
The planned investment for the battery assembly plant to be built at the Seat facilities in Matorell is around 300 million and it is expected to be operational in 2025. The estimated workforce is around 400 direct workers and about 100 more indirect ones. Union sources assured that the majority of these workers will be current workers of the group, although some one-off hiring is not ruled out. At Seat and the other companies in the sector, the assembly of electric cars requires fewer workers than in the case of combustion vehicles, since the engines are much simpler.
The battery cells that will be assembled will be those that will arrive by train from the new factory in Sagunto that the Volkswagen Group is building.
Schäfer recalled the Volkswagen Group’s commitment to Spain, stressing that the consortium’s three “cheap” electric vehicle models will be manufactured here. The first electric car to leave Martorell will be the Cupra Raval, at the end of 2025; and in 2026 the factory will take over the production of the Volkswagen ID.2all. At the Navarra plant, the economical electric model of the Skoda brand, the Epic model, will be produced.
