The Platform for the Language denounces Ebro for not offering manuals or information in Catalan.

BarcelonaThe Platform for the Language has filed an administrative complaint against the automobile company Ebro for failing to comply with the language obligations imposed upon it when it received a public subsidy. According to a statement, the organization asked the General Directorate of Industry of the Generalitat of Catalonia to open a case against the company after receiving a "non-repayable grant of almost two million euros." "It is unacceptable that when the administration sets language requirements, it fails to enforce them," asserts the organization defending Catalan.

As explained by the Platform for the Language, a transparency request revealed that Ebro had received a subsidy in 2022 for reindustrialization projects at the former Nissan factory in the Zona Franca (Free Trade Zone) of Barcelona. To qualify for the subsidy, the company had to meet various language requirements that, according to the organization, are not being applied.

"The company does not have the vehicle owner's manuals in Catalan, nor the vehicle sales catalogues, nor is it able to provide the requested written information in Catalan (such as a vehicle quote), nor does it have any of the factory's permanent signs and information in Catalan," Plata explains. Thus, the organization alleges that Ebro "does not meet any of the language requirements established in the subsidy rules."

Beyond the regulation, the organization also alleges that the car manufacturer "neither has the interactive menus of the cars accessible in Catalan, nor does it have its website in Catalan, nor does it use this language on social media." "It is evident that Ebro's corporate social responsibility does not take into account respect for the language of the region in which it operates or the linguistic rights of its majority buyers," asserts Plataforma per la Llengua.