Mercedes-Benz Vitoria monopolizes the new aid for the electric car
On Tuesday, Pedro Sánchez presented the broad lines of the new delivery of industrial aid for the electric car, estimated at 170 million, and Industry announced yesterday the distribution of the same with a clear winner: Mercedes-Benz, which has achieved a total of 129.6 million euros (76% of the total) for its project to manufacture new electric vans and minivans starting in 2026 at its Vitoria plant. If it accepts the Industry resolution, the German company will receive almost 97 million euros in aid and another 31 million in loans.
It is line B of the second installment of PERTE, dedicated to the electric vehicle value chain, and only 10 projects out of 138 presented have been evaluated, since the study of the applications is carried out according to the order in which they were entered. in the system. This is one of the great novelties regarding the first edition of PERTE.
Almost 800 million in funds
After Mercedes-Benz, the next major beneficiary has been the Irizar company, dedicated to the manufacturing of buses, with 14 million euros. Basquevolt (with 10.5 million) and Nissan (4.7 million) appear next.. The latter, through the Technical Center that preserves the old Barcelona facilities.
Industry has indicated that “in the coming weeks the rest of the applications submitted will continue to be evaluated” until the planned allocation is exhausted.. A figure that, by the way, has increased from the initial 559 million euros to 787 million by incorporating the funds that were not spent on line A of PERTE II, dedicated specifically to batteries for electric vehicles..
The Stellantis project
It remains to be known, therefore, what happens with the star project: the new family of small electric vehicles from Stellantis that would be manufactured in Vigo and Zaragoza.. This is a key project, since it would guarantee the future of both plants and, although the company has not confirmed it, it would be expecting aid of at least 100 million for a total investment of about 1,000 million.
Given what Mercedes-Benz has achieved with a smaller initiative, it seems quite easy if the project was justified properly and on time.. Defects of this type were what Industry argued to grant only 56 million (compared to the 200 that the company expected) for the construction of a battery gigafactory in Zaragoza, into which it will inject some 3,000 million.
In any case, from the ministry headed by Jordi Hereu, they insist that there will still be two new PERTE deliveries to which they can benefit: one endowed with 300 million, for before the summer, and the fourth, whose funds will reach 1,250 million and It is expected to be ready before the end of the year..