“The Sagunto factory? I’m glad it’s in Spain, because it could have gone somewhere else”

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BarcelonaWayne Anthony Griffiths (Dukinfield, United Kingdom, 1966) just two years ago he was appointed chairman of Seat and Cupra. Under his mandate, the Volkswagen group commissioned Seat to manufacture the 100% electric small car for the group’s various brands and decided to set up a battery plant in Sagunto.

This year is not looking good, sales have fallen by up to 26%.

— It’s a complicated year for everyone, but in our case not because of a lack of demand, but because of a lack of supplies. This is frustrating, we have customers waiting for their Seats and their Cupras. The fall we suffer is due to a lack of semiconductors. We have order levels at a record high.

They are applying an ERTE for this. Will it have to be extended?

— For sure until the end of this year it will continue to be complicated and we will have to use flexibility measures, and I think next year as well. We will have to get used to it: now the only thing that is certain is that everything is uncertain. And in the face of uncertainty, you have to be flexible. But I don’t see it as a negative because we have a lot of demand, it’s very frustrating that we can’t supply and that customers have to wait so long.

In this component crisis, could the group help Seat more? The unions have complained, especially when Herbert Diess was there [l’anterior CEO de Volkswagen], that he didn’t like Seat and that some components went to other brands in the group. Has this happened?

— I think it is affecting all brands and you can see how it also affects volume brands, such as Volkswagen or Skoda. Within the group there was a priority for brands premiumof course, but among the volume brands we are all the same.

The strategy that has led until now has been to greatly enhance Cupra, with new models, but it does not seem that Seat has any new launch projects.

— I think we have had a phase of great growth with Seat. I think Seat now has the best range in its history, with SUVs, the plug-in hybrid León and Tarraco, and also very cool cars like the Ibiza and Arona. Seat continues to be in high demand. With Cupra we focus more on electrification, with cars like the Tavascan, the Urban Rebel or the plug-in hybrid Terramar, because we can’t do everything at the same time. Electrification, in the automotive world, has come from top to bottom, from luxury cars and premium, and now it is becoming more democratized and reaching the brands with the highest volume. We have to prioritize and have chosen Cupra as the brand for electric cars.

If the explosion engine has its days numbered, so does Seat?

— Fuel cars will continue to be sold until 2035, many will be hybrids and plug-in hybrids. It is true that the future is electric and the electricity market will continue to grow, but it is yet to begin in Spain. At the moment it is only 3% of the market and with the plug-in hybrid it does not reach 10%. The car we are working on, the small electric one, the Urban Rebel, and the Volkswagens that will be manufactured in Spain will democratize electromobility. This, with the measures that the government is taking to encourage the electric car and all the charging infrastructure, I think will accelerate the electrified market in the coming years.

Will we ever see a 100% electric Seat?

— We will decide in due course. We decided it first for the Cupra brand. It is still to be decided when and how Seat will be electrified, and also if it will be electrified for a car or for mobility, because with Seat Mó we have electrified urban mobility, which can also be an alternative.

The Martorell factory will make the cars derived from the Urban Rebel. Will it have any other platform?

— It will have other models of the group on the same platform at the beginning, and at the same time it will continue with our platforms such as the León and the Formentor until there is a change to an electric platform for them. And that decision is yet to be made. That we would like to have another platform? Of course. But you have to look within the group where it would make more sense. There are many factories in the same situation as ours and transforming. There is no place to do it at the beginning either if you have the León and the Formentor and they continue in the future with product improvements and design changes. These products have a long way to go and will continue to be manufactured in Martorell. Until these cars are replaced there is no discussion of a second platform.

¿The idea with the electric platform is to exceed half a million cars manufactured a l’any in Martorell?

– Yes. But not only in Martorell, it is part of a bigger strategy, because if you look at this segment of the small car that is now fuel, we are talking about the Polo, Fabia, Ibiza, Arona, Karmiq… It is a huge segment that will transform to electric, and will be made in the Iberian Peninsula.

PERTE plays a very important role in this. Is it too slow?

— It is already quite advanced, but everything must be ready to manufacture the electric car in 2025 in Martorell and to have the battery factory also by those dates. Decisions must be made, it must be started now. Until PERTE is resolved, these decisions cannot be made. Yes, we are running late.

A delay due to the bureaucracy, the ministry…?

— No, the fault lies with the complexity of a project of these dimensions. It would be easy for me to complain about bureaucracy, but we are talking about a project that means 10 billion euros to us. It is not only the largest investment in the automotive world in Spain, it is probably the largest investment in the industrial history of this country. It’s a huge investment and it’s very complicated, there are many limitations and conditions that you have to meet at a European level and also nationally for it to work. All public and political actors are fighting with us to make this happen.

Does it make sense for the battery plant to be in Sagunto to build cars in Martorell and Pamplona?

— Valencia had many advantages in the selection. The group looked at several alternatives. I’m glad it’s in Spain, because it could have been somewhere else. There are many countries in Europe that have many advantages as well. Within Spain, Valencia had many economic and logistical advantages and came out as the best option.

And political advantages, of facilities?

— There was a great effort by the Valencian community. They have fought for this project, but so have other communities.

Did Catalonia arrive late?

— He was not late. It wasn’t a matter of who was first, but where it made the most sense. In the end Valencia made more sense than the other alternatives.

The electric car involves an excess of staff. Does the new agreement solve that?

— I think that with the new agreement we have the flexibility to adapt. The charging of the future will have to be seen, which will depend a lot on how fast the transformation and demand for electric cars goes. I will work to create this demand. We want to make electric cars in a country where so far no electric cars are sold. It has to change fast, and not only here, but in all the countries of Europe. Employment will depend on demand for the electric car. We opted for the electric car, which is good, because the alternative of staying with the fuel is a dead plan. A second platform in Martorell would help us a lot.

Is it possible to assign a second platform to Martorell?

— I will fight for it. What is easy? No, because there is a lot of competition in the group. Our complexity must be understood. We are a group with many brands, in many countries, with many factories and we need to look for balanced solutions by brand and by country. And we will play our part. But we will fight with our unions for this, of course.

Can the change in group management, with Oliver Blume replacing Herbert Diess, help?

— We must recognize what Herbert Diess has done in the group, to push this transformation. We wouldn’t be discussing an electric car in Spain in 2025 without his drive. Oliver Blume is good news for Seat, I think so, because he knows us, he worked at Seat, he has been a member of the Seat board for the last six years, he knows our plans, electrification with Cupra, supports the transformation of our company. It’s good news for us.

Is aid needed to promote the electric car in Spain?

— Additional measures are needed in the short term. Not having goals for 2030 or 2035, that neither I nor the politicians will be in the same place. We have to decide how many electric cars we want next year, how many in 2024, we have to set achievable goals for the coming years with measures to support this. Anfac has proposed concrete measures to the government to improve sales of electric cars in Spain. The other issue is the charging infrastructure. The government is making a major effort. There are many players and you have to sit them all at a table and come up with pragmatic plans.

The goal for this year was profitability. Has this changed?

— In the first semester we made great progress, with 147 million euros without extraordinary effects, which is a big change compared to last year [el primer semestre del 2021 van ser -26 milions d’euros], and this with a much lower volume. Now with 30% less volume [de vendes] we are profitable Now we are much more sustainable and solid. There was a very good forecast until the end of the year. The only thing that could cause problems is the lack of supply of semiconductors. So far the first semester has gone well, we have recovered, we are much more profitable. It must be seen now in the last months of the year.

Is having more profitability with fewer sales thanks to Cupra, or the fact that its cars leave more margin?

— It is one of the most important factors. The Cupra Formentor, which is manufactured in Martorell, gives us much more turnover and much more results, four times more than an Ibiza, for example. Also the León, and models that are manufactured abroad such as the Ateca or the Tarraco. I think Cupra has played a very important role in profitability, but we’ve also brought fixed costs down a lot and improved the product mix a lot. I think the whole company has made an effort. Last year we were in losses in the first semester, now there is a positive change with an improvement of 173 million.

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