For some time now, Stellantis has become the king of vehicle production in Spain thanks to its three plants in Vigo, Zaragoza and Madrid.. In fact, the former is currently the one that produces the most cars in the entire country.. In 2023, the position of the group led by Carlos Tavares has become even stronger.

According to figures released yesterday, the combined production of the three facilities will grow this year by no less than 17.8%, going from last year's 851,661 cars to 1,002,301 units.. In the same period, Anfac estimates that vehicle manufacturing nationwide will reach close to 2.5 million units, with an improvement of 12.7%. Which means that, if in 2022 Stellantis accounts for 38.4% of the total in Spain, in this year the percentage will already exceed 40%.. Or what is the same: four out of every 10 cars.

Vigo assembles both passenger cars and small vans Two projects: 4,000 million

This – and the nearly 13,000 jobs considering only the direct ones – is what the Government of Pedro Sánchez is at stake, since the future of the multinational in Spain depends on two major initiatives whose final approval is pending, above all, on aid. definitive that they receive.

On the one hand, the so-called Antares project. This should translate into the construction of the largest battery gigafactory in Spain, near Figueruelas, with a planned investment of 3,000 million euros and which would start operating in 2026.. On the other hand, the assignment, starting in 2027 or 2028, of a new family of small electric cars to the Vigo and Zaragoza plants, since the models produced in Villaverde (the Citroën C4 and C4 ) have more travel. This line would involve the investment of another 1,000 million euros.

The PERTE controversy

For both projects, Stellantis requested aid from the PERTE VEC. But it hit home in the case of batteries, since the allocation of funds that was announced in November only granted them 55 million euros of the 200 million to which they aspired.. Then, and after the disenchantment of the multinational, the Ministry of Industry made it clear that an ad hoc solution to the mess would be sought.. And this week, in one of his first meetings with the industry, the new head of the portfolio, Jordi Hereu, met with senior executives of Stellantis to smooth things over and make it clear to them that they consider the battery plant as “a strategic project” to convert Spain in a sustainable mobility hub in Europe.

Citroën C4 produced in Madrid

The exit happens because the company attends the third installment of the PERTE VEC, endowed with 1,250 million euros and which wants to be launched in the first quarter of 2024. In addition, regional aid from Aragon should also be added, in the same way that Catalonia and the Valencian Community pitched in for the electrification project of the Seat and VW plants, plus the Sagunto battery plant..

cars first

However, it would make little sense for the multinational to assemble these batteries in our country, if then the cars that are going to need them are assembled in a different country.. Hence, we are waiting for the resolution of the so-called PERTE VEC 2 value chain line.. According to the department headed by Hereu, the resolution of the aid should be known throughout the month of January. The company has already said that it wants to award it to Spain, although it wants measures to be approved that improve the competitiveness and efficiency of the Vigo facilities, with higher costs than Zaragoza, but which work at a very high pace..

X-ray of Stellantis production in Spain in 2022

Specifically, the Galician plant will have produced 531,732 cars (13% of them electric) by the end of this year, 31.5% more. And it would surpass its record from 2007 if it had not suffered tensions due to the lack of some components.. Figueruelas will maintain a volume similar to that of 2022 (365,739 units), but with a record in terms of zero-emission vehicles, exceeding 44,000 units. Finally, 105,830 cars are planned for Madrid (+29%) and one in four will be completely electric..

BYD chooses Hungary

While waiting for the Stellantis megaproject to come to fruition, yesterday we learned of one that will not arrive in our country. Although Spain was in the pools, the Chinese giant BYD has decided on Hungary to install its first factory in Europe, which is also the first of a manufacturer from the Asian giant in the Old Continent.. It will be used exclusively for what BYD calls new energy vehicles.. That is, 100% electric and plug-in hybrids of which it is already the world's leading producer.

Although located in the heart of Europe and also with car factories, Hungary is years ahead in production volume: 441,000 vehicles in 2022, according to data from the OICA association, compared to 2.2 million in Spain.