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Spain electrifies Ford and Volkswagen, here’s how

2 years ago babelfish

Spain electrifies Ford and Volkswagen, here's how

After Volkswagen's Germans, Ford's Americans also choose Spain for the production of the next generation of electric cars. Thus Madrid attracts capital, thanks to the ecological transition and the PNRR

Spain has never had a great history in the automotive field, but it has always been, for various purely economic and wage reasons, the nation in which foreign brands preferred to open their industries. In fact, in terms of the number of cars produced, it is behind Germany and ahead of France, which also boasts Peugeot, Renault, Citroen / DS and Alpine. With the transition to electric engines, the situation does not seem destined to change. Perhaps the Iberian country will not acquire proprietary brands (Seat remains), but it is certainly attracting foreign manufacturers who intend to invest in EV cars. Also thanks to an industrial policy that has its roots in post-pandemic European Community aid: of the approximately 70 billion euros of the Spanish PNRR, Madrid will allocate 13 billion for eMobility as early as 2023. Italy, to make a comparison , only one billion.

VW: WE WILL ELECTRICATE THE COUNTRY WITH A GIGAFACTORY AND A FACTORY

Not even a month ago Volkswagen announced that it wanted to put 10 billion on the plate (initially the estimated sum was seven) to start the production of zero-emission cars and the creation of the related batteries in Spain. On that occasion, accompanied by half the Iberian government, the number 1 of VW, Herbert Diess, declared: “We will electrify Spain with a new gigafactory and a new factory dedicated to electric cars. We will create an ecosystem of suppliers that work across the entire value chain, from lithium mining to battery assembly ”.

The CEO's reference was to the Segunto battery factory, which will have a capacity of 40 GWh per year and should be ready by the first quarter of 2023. The gigafactory will instead be operational by 2026 but will arrive at full capacity only in 2030 when will come to have over 3,000 employees.

The German plan provides for the involvement of Seat and, above all, of the largest Spanish energy company, Iberdrola, which has allocated 500 million euros for electric mobility and which will install a photovoltaic park that will help power the gigafactory that will be built in Sagunto, near in Valencia. It would have been precisely the intervention of Seat and Iberdrola, in all probability pushed into the field by the Spanish government, that convinced the Germans to put 3 billion more on the operation, with the passage from seven to 10.

WHAT FORD WILL DO IN SPAIN

Now Ford also arrives in Spain. Precisely in Almussafes (Valencia), in the east of the peninsula, where the US giant intends to produce its electric car ventures destined for Europe, at least according to what Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said: "It is a choice for industry and for work ”, Wrote the owner of the Iberian government on Twitter. Spain, with the Almussafes plant, which currently employs around 6,000 people (and it seemed even had to close) was preferred to the German plant in Saarlouis, where Focurs is already manufactured.

Also in Germany, in Cologne, Ford will develop electric cars on the Volkswagen – MEB platform, according to the agreements reached in 2020. Ford has earmarked almost two billion euros for the modernization of the German factory. Ford currently produces the E-Transit in Turkey, at the Kocaeli plant, in the province of the same name and intends to produce the 100% electric versions of the Transit Courier, Cargo and passengers in Craiova, Romania.

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/la-spagna-elettrizza-ford-e-volkswagen-ecco-come/ on Fri, 24 Jun 2022 06:12:45 +0000.