Volkswagen’s Spanish unit SEAT will start the making of electric vehicles and batteries. The progress comes after the initial reservations about the size of government subsidies for the venture’s strategic importance for Spain. The SEAT-led project will be in the presence of 60 other Volkswagen-linked companies.
It is anticipated that the investment of 10 billion euros ($10.06 billion). The government said last month VW-SEAT would receive 397.4 million euros of the 877 million total in the first phase of the PERTE electric vehicle financing program using EU pandemic recovery funds. Though SEAT received the largest allocation, it initially said the funding was not sufficient. It was not immediately clear if the financing has been increased. Local media have reported regional authorities had offered some additional subsidies and loans. “The acceptance of the PERTE by the Volkswagen Group and SEAT is a sign of our strong commitment to Spain and to Europe,” SEAT chief Wayne Griffiths said in a video, calling it “a historic day for all of us”.
The Volkswagen Group will electrify the Martorell and Pamplona factories and Spain will have its first battery plant in Sagunto, he said, adding that the project will create thousands of jobs. Spain is Europe’s second-largest car-producing nation behind Germany and is planning to use European Union pandemic relief funds to strengthen its industry.
Manufacturing
The Spanish government has described electric vehicles as a priority that would both create quality blue-collar jobs and meet Europe’s ban on sales of new gasoline and diesel cars by 2035. “Magnificent news that Volkswagen Group and SEAT reaffirm their commitment to Spain to transform their plants in Martorell and Pamplona and to build a battery factory in Sagunto as part of our electric car initiative,” Sánchez wrote in Spanish on Twitter. “We are re-industrializing our country and leading the energy transition,” he said. The Spanish government said last year that it would convert the country’s car manufacturing industry, the second-largest in Europe, with funds from the European Union’s post-pandemic recovery plan.
SEAT is a Spanish car manufacturer, which sells its vehicles under the SEAT and Cupra brands. It was founded on 9 May 1950 as a partnership between the Spanish state-owned Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI), which held a majority stake, Spanish private banks, and FIAT. It quickly became the largest supplier of cars in Spain. In 1986, after 36 years of being publicly listed as an independent automaker, the Spanish government sold SEAT to the Volkswagen Group, of which it remains a wholly owned subsidiary.
