The agreement for the landing of the Chinese automobile group Chery in the old facilities of Nissan in the Barcelona Free Zone allow the production of up to 150,000 vehicles in 2029 (50,000 are expected in 2027), while they will recover up to 1,250 jobs .
This is what he announced today Pedro CalefCEO of Ebrothe brand owned by EV Motors that has signed the agreement with Cheryduring the official signing of the alliance that makes this company the first Chinese manufacturer to produce in Europe.
Both circumstances explain why the event was attended by the President of the Government, Pedro Sanchezthe Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereuthe president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonsthe Minister of Business and Work, Roger Torrentand the vice governor of China’s Anhui province, Shan Xiangqian. Zhang Guibingexecutive vice president of Chery Automobilehas been in charge of signing the agreement by the Asian multinational. Ebro Factorythe name of the joint venture in which EV Motors being the majority partner, has planned a investment of 400 million euros long-term.
Omoda
The project will begin rolling out this year with the production, before the summer, of vehicles. Omodaone of the brands of Chery. They will be units of the model Omoda 5 in its variants combustion y electricalwhich, to accelerate the industrialization of the facilities, will initially be assembled under the formula DKD (Direct Knock Down), that is, assembling large pieces that will already arrive ready-made at the plant. However, future plans contemplate that Free Zone assume all production processes (CKD: Complete Knock Down) and that local suppliers join. This will mean that, initially, only 150 employees.
In the last quarter of the year, cars from the reborn Spanish brand will be added Ebrowhich meets the 70th birthday of its foundation. To begin with, a SUV of advanced technology and, later, it will be the turn of pick up 100% electric that was presented 11 months ago in the Barcelona Motor Show.
Among the plans it is also planned to create a R&D center in Barcelona dedicated to the adaptations of production to the European market.
In institutional speeches, Sánchez has emphasized “the capacity of the Spanish industry to reinvent itself and adapt to global challenges.” The president has expressed “the Government’s total commitment to Barcelona and Catalonia as an industrial hub in all areas, but especially in the automotive sector.”
In this sense, the Chief Executive has celebrated the joint work of the different administrations: “United we are unstoppable, we have demonstrated it by working side by side during all these years.”
Sánchez has cited several examples of collaboration between institutions and with the private sector, such as the one that has made possible the new assembly plant for the together for electric vehicles in the facilities of Seat in Martorell (Barcelona).
“We have achieved the reindustrialization of one of the most important plants of the last 80 years in Catalonia,” said Aragons, who wanted to vindicate the work of the councilor Torrent, who traveled to China last week in the final stretch of the negotiations.
“We recovered the industrial essence of our country, today we can confirm a bright future,” said Calef in what he highlighted as “a very important day.”
“Once we reach scale, the factory will become one of the major export points for Chery around the world,” Guibing finally highlighted.
Nissan reindustrialization
1,422 days after Nissan announced, on May 28, 2020, that it was closing its factories in Catalonia, the alliance of EV Motors con Chery It culminates the lengthy negotiation process for the reindustrialization of the land that the Japanese multinational left behind definitively at the end of 2021.
At the beginning of the pandemic covidthe closure of the three facilities (the main one in the Free Zone and the suppliers of Montcada and Reixac y Sant Andreu de la Barca) was one of the few pieces of news with an impact beyond the effects of the health crisis, as it left more than 2,500 people out of work and put thousands of people at risk. indirect jobs and the future of several supplier companies.