Seat and Volkswagen: sustainable mobility, competitiveness and employment
Seat and its owner, the German consortium Volkswagen (VW), have taken the latest step in the electrification of the Martorell factory, one of the hubs The most important industrial sector in Catalonia. The launch of the company's battery assembly plant represents the realization of a clear commitment to promoting sustainable mobility. The heart of vehicles is no longer the combustion engine, but the battery. With China's growing power in the market with hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars, European companies have had to accelerate their efforts to regain ground.
The initiative by Seat and Volkswagen, within an investment program of up to €10 billion in Spain, is part of this strategy, which must not only generate returns for the company but also improve its competitiveness and contribute to improving that of the country and Europe as a whole. It should even help advance the European authorities' objective of increasing the continent's strategic autonomy by reducing its technological dependence on the US and China. Steps of this kind are necessary to maintain, and ideally increase, the leadership of an automotive industry undergoing profound transformation. And the company, despite changes at the top, has stayed the course.
The company's commitment also brings good news for employment. On the one hand, the battery assembly plant will create 500 jobs, 400 direct and the rest indirect. On the other hand, having electrified models in its portfolio guarantees work and business for a relatively long period of time. Factories need a steady workload to have future prospects. The first electric cars manufactured at the Seat plant in Martorell are expected to hit the market next year.
The goal is to reach a production of 600,000 cars per year at this plant, half of which—300,000—will be electric. Furthermore, the first model to roll off the assembly line will have distinctly Catalan, or at least Barcelonan, connotations, as it will be the Cupra Raval, available at dealerships starting in March of next year. The next will be the Volkswagen ID. Polo. Another noteworthy aspect is that Seat is leading the Volkswagen Group in the electrification of its smaller and more popular models, which, in addition to the Cupra Raval and Volkswagen ID. Polo, also include the Skoda Epiq and the Volkswagen ID. Cross, all of which will be manufactured at the German group's plant in Landaben (Navarra). A solid guarantee for the future, as the Cupra brand is proving to be. This move by the company also aligns with the objective of both the Spanish and Catalan governments to increase the weight of industry, a value-added activity with specialized employment and generally above-average salaries. Furthermore, the transformation carried out at the Martorell plant has made it the Volkswagen Group's third-largest production facility in Europe, contributing a quarter of all cars manufactured in Spain. Another guarantee for the future.