2023-11-19 15:41:09
The president of the Government, Pedro Sanchez, recently inaugurated in office, has to look for a good tailor, without delay, so as not to miss one of the largest business investments currently on the table in Spain. This is one of the main duties of the new legislature to which he must respond, through the Ministry of Industry, If you want to tie the battery factory Stellar plans to install next to its Figueruelas automobile plant. The group came out short in the last distribution of aid from the Perte for electric and connected vehicles (VEC) by receiving only 55.9 million euros to promote this billion-dollar project, a quarter of the funds that the multinational aspired to and the subsidies granted to other similar proposals in other autonomous communities. It is still possible to reverse this imbalance and save the ballot, as all the agents involved hope will happen, but there are also reasons not to err on the side of confidence given the precedents.
None of the parties involved have wanted to clarify the exact causes of the lack of aid, although it is known that it was due to technical reasons of the call. The company has not met any of the requirements demanded by the conditions of the program financed with European recovery funds, but both the central and regional Executives are optimistic and confident of providing a solution to a transcendental project for Aragon. It depends on whether the long-term future of the automobile industry in the community can be assured, a sector that is the backbone of the economy and employment at an autonomic level. But Spain is also playing the game, as it is key to anchoring its largest car manufacturer, which with three factories Zaragoza, Vigo and Madrid bring together almost 40% of national production.
The most positive thing is that the initiative has not fallen on deaf ears at the moment despite the setback suffered in Perte. However, the investment, which could be around a whopping 3 billion euros and generate several thousand jobs, remains on the shelf waiting for its economic viability to be clarified. For it to end up prospering, it will be necessary for the State to create a tailor-made suit as soon as possible that meets the needs of public support that an industry of this magnitude requires. This is what Carlos Tavares demandsthe incisive pattern of the giant of the motor emerged two years ago from the merger between PSA (Peugeot Citroën) and FCA (Fiat Chrysler).
The state incentives assigned so far to the project “have not met expectations,” as the company openly acknowledges. At the group’s headquarters in Paris, the final resolution of the Industry aid fell like a bucket of cold water, which in this call has managed to distribute 95% of the 550 million that the Perte line of subsidies for batteries had. VEC II. Specifically, 528.9 million distributed in 26 projects of 21 companies, so that there has been a surplus of just over 21 million.
There was political will in the ministry currently headed by Héctor Gómez to give maximum support to Stellantis, as he himself certified on a recent visit to Zaragoza. In the statements he made on October 17 at an event held at the Mobility City, he promised to make an “220%” effort to make the long-awaited gigafactory materialize in Aragonese lands, words with which he tried to calm the concern generated a few days before. for the provisional distribution of subsidies, that granted only 53.4 million to the project, baptized as Antares. That commitment, however, was diluted in the final award of public money. Following the allegations presented by the company, the technicians only increased the initial allocation by 2.5 million.
The comparative insult with other battery factories promoted in Spain is patent. The amount assigned to the multinational is far below what was received for other projects of similar size. The Chinese firm Envision has obtained almost six times more funds in the same Perte call, obtaining 300 million (200 in grants and 100 in loans). The amount granted a year ago to the Volkswagen group for its Sagunto project is also notably higher. (Valencia), which finally achieved 195 million (100 from the first Perte and 95 from another game)although in this case also after a tug of war with the Government.
The ministry has tried to make light of what happened and for reasons of confidentiality they do not clarify the reasons for the trigger suffered by Stellantis, which obtained a total of 66 million in the Perte thanks to two other initiatives for the assembly of batteries in your plants Figueruelas and Madrid. The important thing for Industry is that it continues to collaborate closely with the company to bring the gigafactory to fruition. The Government has made available the financing instruments available to reach the maximum to which it aspires.
14 Stellantis brands
Nor has the company wanted to shed light on the technical reasons for this unsuccessful result, but the Franco-American motor giant has made it clear that despite everything it has not yet thrown in the towel. The group, which includes 14 automotive brands, ensures that it maintains its commitment to investing in Spain in large projects such as the Zaragoza battery factory, which could become the largest in the country with a capacity of up to 60 gigawatts. Of course, he has warned that to do so “the support of public institutions is essential.” Company and Government are thus working on a roadmap to achieve the level of necessary aid through other existing mechanisms and lines.. In this context, the great hope is the third call of the Perte VEC, which will come out at the beginning of 2024 with more than 1.2 billion.
As it is, the glass looks more like half full today. The dialogue between the company and the governments of Spain and Aragon is fluid and permanent. But if there is something that raises doubts about the happy ending of the project, it is the silence that Tavares maintains on the matter. The lack of any gesture or statement from the managerial factotum generates suspicions, according to sources familiar with the process. Uncertainty therefore remains over an installation for which he longs. Aragonwho trusts that a tailor can be found to prevent them from making a new one.
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