Although sales of electric cars barely account for 5.5% of the total so far this year in Spain, investments in zero-emission vehicles do not stop in the country. The last to confirm its plans in the Iberian Peninsula has been Stellantis, which, together with the Chinese company CATL, will build a battery factory next to its plant in Figueruelas (Zaragoza). With the work, the investment in large clean car projects exceeds 19,000 million and is well above 20,000 million euros if the trail of investments of a lesser depth is taken into account, which becomes almost impossible to follow. trace.
The latest boost to the industry comes with the signing of an agreement between Stellantis and CATL to invest 4.1 billion euros in a joint venture which will build the lithium-ferrophosphate (LFP) battery plant in Zaragoza. With a capacity of 50 GWh, it will be the largest in Spain and will feed the group’s different brands: Peugeot, Citroën, Opel, Fiat or Alfa Romeo.
For this project, the automobile giant has received 55 million euros of European funds. It was closed despite the resignation of the group’s CEO, Carlos Tavares, who resigned last week. The reluctance of the Chinese Government, which faces the European Union over tariffs imposed on electric cars manufactured with aid in the Asian giant, was also overcome.
Precisely the entry of Chinese vehicles, added to depressed consumption and high production costs, is the main challenge facing European manufacturers. Without going any further, Stellantis itself has faced strikes in Italy for stopping activity and laid off 1,200 people in Michigan in the summer. Cost control was one of Tavares’ priorities; more after announcing a reduction in forecasts by moving from a perspective of cash flow negative from 5,000 million to -10,000 million by 2024.
A similar situation is going on Volkswagen AG, responsible for half of the investment underway in Spain thanks to its Future Fast Forward planwith which it will allocate 10,000 million to electrify the Seat plant in Martorell (Barcelona), the Volkswagen plant in Navarra and will build a battery factory in Sagunto. Among the suppliers – who will contribute 3,000 million of those 10,000 million – are Gestamp, Valeo, Gonvarri or Celsa.
Despite already having projects such as the Martorell assembly plant halfway done, the group warns that the slow implementation of the electric car in Spain may impact its plans. “We are complying and doing our homework and we need public sector collaboration with infrastructure and incentives,” warned Wayne Griffiths, CEO of Seat, in an interview with elEconomista.es. “My concern is to fill our factory. And do it with electric cars. If there is no demand for electric cars and you have to lower production, you will have a problem with employment,” he added.
Mercedes Benz is also deploying its plan to expand and transform facilities for the manufacturing of electric vehicles in Vitoria starting in 2026, making it a strategic factory for the German multinational seven decades after its arrival in the Basque Country. An initiative that will involve an investment of more than 1,000 million and that will drive the entire ecosystem of Spanish automotive suppliers. The Basque plant has a staff of 5,000 people and generates indirect employment of 30,000 workers, part of a chain of suppliers of 800 companies throughout Spain, about 400 in Euskadi.
China looks at Spain
Chinese investment also plays a leading role in Spanish success. Both with operations linked to the electric car and not. The most representative is the 2.5 billion in Navalmoral de la Mata (Cáceres) to build a lithium battery gigafactory. The Chinese group’s plan is based on the development and manufacturing of batteries from a zero-emissions plant, integrated into different electric platforms, including a system of removable batteries adapted for other mobility models. In addition, the same group has another 1,000 million reserved for an electrolyzer center.
It will directly manufacture Chery automobiles, which will be installed in the old Nissan plant in the Barcelona Free Trade Zone with an investment of 400 million. formed a joint venture with the Spanish firm Ebro, which will be the one to start production. The Chinese company decided to delay the start of its own production by one year, until autumn 2025.
To both plants we should add the Sentury Tire tire installation in As Pontes (A Coruña), which includes 750 contracts and an amount that exceeds 530 million euros.
In this industrial transformation, The administration has also decided to play its cards. Beyond the Next Generation EU funds, there are several projects promoted directly from the public sphere. Basquevolt plans to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles in 2027. It will require 700 million investments and will create 800 jobs when it is at full capacity. Basquevolt, a public-private initiative promoted by the Basque Government, plans to launch a 1 GWh production line of solid lithium cells for electric vehicle batteries at the end of 2025 and mass produce batteries in 2027.
Furthermore, on the table are the battery project that Inobat proposes in Valladolid and even the factory that Tesla is considering installing in Valencia to be confirmed.
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