Prime Minister Sánchez announced on Monday that the Spanish government has allocated €2 billion to the automotive sector. To provide even more support, the government is also seeking cooperation with the autonomous communities. As such, Spain aims to be a world leader in electric car production.
Sánchez made it clear that his government will “do everything possible” to ensure that electric vehicle manufacturers invest here. And, furthermore, that Spain becomes a “leader” in this sector. ‘Accelerating’ investment, he added, is a ‘priority’.
Sánchez made this statement during his visit to the Renault Group’s Research, Development and Innovation (R&D&I) centre in Valladolid. It was his third visit to this location since becoming prime minister. The visit took place after the Volkswagen group announced that it is considering not going ahead with the construction of its planned giant battery plant in Sagunto (Valencia), which involves a €3 billion investment.
The prime minister pointed out that on Friday, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism approved the final resolution for the industrial value chain support proposal of the Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation of Electric and Connected Vehicles (PERTE_VEC).
Multiple lines of support
He pointed out that the programme involves a public investment of €877.2 million. And also recalled that PERTE_VEC complements other plans. For example, the Moves plan, the sustainable mobility technology programme of the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (€) or the programme to integrate artificial intelligence to transform the economic structure.
Two billion to automotive sector
‘In total, public funding for the automotive sector amounts to more than €2 billion,’ Sánchez stated. He then stated that the government is working on other instruments to boost it along with autonomous communities.
Leader in electric car production
‘The government will do everything in its power to ensure that manufacturers looking to invest in Spain find the support they need to make their projects a success. There is no other country where the commitment to the electrification of the sector is more profitable,’ Sánchez stressed. He argued that Spain should aim to become the ‘world leader’ in electric car production and guaranteed that for the government, ‘accelerating’ the transition to electric vehicles is a ‘priority’ with the aim of saving jobs and the industry.
Innovation, technological development and energy efficiency
Finally, Sánchez stressed that the future of the sector ‘lies in innovation and technological development, combined with energy efficiency’, after which he concluded his speech, in which he was joined by Renault Spain president José Vicente de los Mozos, the Junta’s regional economy and finance minister Carlos Fernández Carriedo and Valladolid mayor Óscar Puente, with a quote from Valladolid writer Miguel Delibes. ‘It is necessary to align nature and technology. So that technology, using organic waste, can close the production cycle in a rational and orderly way,’ Sánchez concluded.
