The Auto 2030 plan, to boost the motor industry in Spain in the electrification wave, was presented this Thursday in Catalonia, still with one of the key points, purchase subsidies of up to 4,500 euros, pending deployment. “The system will be operational before summer” and the subsidies can be requested, detailed Jordi García Brustenga, Secretary of State for Industry, at an event in Barcelona. Despite the delay, the subsidies will be retroactive from January.
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The government and sector associations have reviewed the plan coordinated between Anfac – manufacturers’ association – and Industry, which was unveiled at the end of last year. A master guide for the coming years aimed at promoting electrification and strengthening the motor industry. Adapting factories is a crucial step. “We are under construction, we are working to be the leading producer in Europe in three years, that is the ambition of the plan we have made,” he highlighted. Among the challenges, Brustenga points out that demand is growing, “we have gone from sales of 10% to 20% in pure and electrified electric vehicles” in the last year, he noted.
The plan is also “a message to Chinese investors,” who in many cases are choosing Spain for their deployment in Europe. Brustenga opens the doors to these investors, although with some remarks. “Welcome Chinese investment, but well done. We want to show Sejourne – commissioner who criticized the car assembly model in alliance with Chinese firms instead of manufacturing – Europe, that we do things well,” he explains.
“Welcome Chinese investment, but well done,” is the stance from Industry
The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, has stated that from Catalonia “we are committed to the transformation of mobility.” In this sense, he launched an electrifying message: “I tell Catalans that if they can buy a car, let it be electric, and if possible, made at home.” The president announced the launch of a 5 million euro package for innovation in the sector, through Acció.
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From the manufacturers’ side, Josep Maria Recasens, president of Anfac, has focused on the many challenges the sector faces. “The sector is used to competing, but it has never faced so many fronts at once,” he stated. Electrification requires million-dollar investments. “It will strain companies, but investment must be made,” he explained. European and Spanish aid must appear here to help with investment. “Not only in sheet metal and plastic, but also in intangible assets.”
Markus Haupt, CEO of Seat and Cupra, stated that “Auto 2030 is a very important step to accelerate the change and consolidate Spain as a leader in Europe,” but that “concrete and real” measures are required. On the electric front, he detailed that the group will start manufacturing the Cupra Raval, its first electric vehicle in Martorell, “in the coming weeks.”
The labor impact is another point under close scrutiny. In a roundtable, Josep Maria Vall, president of the Automotive Industry Cluster of Catalonia (CIAC), stated that we are “in a radical change,” and that the labor adjustments taking place – Catalonia is currently experiencing several layoffs and temporary employment regulation files – “if they are a step towards adaptation, it is a lesser evil.”
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