Speech by President of the Government during his visit to the Renault plant in Palencia

Renault plant, Palencia

Mr President of the Regional Government of Castile Leon, Mr CEO of Renault, Mr Executive Vice-President of Renault Spain, Mr Managing Director, public officials, representatives of the media, ladies and gentlemen,

In November 21012, I had the opportunity to visit this same plant in Villamuriel de Cerrato. It was a pleasure to do so then as it is today. The Renault Industrial Plan 2014-2016 had just been finalised then and now the new all-terrain Kadjar model is about to commence series production.

I would like to express my gratitude. This decision, like that of the Industrial Plan, is good for Palencia, for Castile Leon and for all of Spain, and I am sure that it will also be good for Renault.

It is good for Palencia because, in addition to helping consolidate this factory, it sends out a message of stability for the future and, moreover, it will create jobs, which is just what is needed here and throughout Spain.

It is also good for Castile Leon, where the automotive sector is enormously important: 20% of all vehicles manufactured in Spain are manufactured in Castile Leon; the sector represents 38% of all exports from the region and 75% of exports from the province of Palencia. In short, we are talking about close on 25% of the industrial GDP of this region.

And it is also good for Spain, because what is good for the Spanish people, in this case, those in Castile Leon, is good for the whole of Spain and also for the rest of the Spanish people.

So thank you.

Renault is a great company. It is present in 128 countries throughout the world, it provides jobs for many people, it continues to grow, selling more and innovating more than any other. We are very pleased that the company is here; it has been here for many years now, and we are aware of what the automotive sector means for Spain and we will try to look after it.

The automotive sector represents 7% of our industrial GDP; it generates many direct and indirect jobs, in terms of both vehicle and component manufacturing; it represents 15% of all exports from Spain and is our third leading export sector.

Spain is the second-leading European country in vehicle production and the ninth in the world. Hence, what common sense dictates and what sensible people must do is support the sector. We have done so - I am not going to repeat the history here of recent times - through the PIVE, PIMA and PIMA Transport promotion plans; and we will continue to do so in the future. We greatly welcome the rise in vehicle sales in Spain recently. They have been rising now for the last 18 months and today we have seen the new figures for February: 26.1% higher than in February last year. Logically, that is very positive for those who have committed to the automotive industry and it is also very positive for the countries where this industry is present, such as ours.

Hence, we have supported the automotive sector, which was one of the first sectors to support Spain in times of tremendous difficulty for our country. You know that Spain has gone through an economic phase of enormous complexity, which has been very complicated to manage.

Spain is doing better now. There is still a long way to go, but it is doing better. When I was here in November 2012, everyone was asking me when we were going to ask for a bailout, why we had so many difficulties accessing finance, what level our risk premium was at, etc. That was probable the worst year of the crisis. But that wasn't the worst of all, the worst of all was that Spain had a problem of a lack of competitiveness, we were in recession and as each day passed unemployment increased.

Today things have changed for the better, although there is still a lot to do; but now no-one is asking us about the bailout, or if we are bankrupt, or about the situation of our risk premium. Fortunately that is in the past. A sad past, but one that is over now.
Our competitiveness is now improving and we are enjoying growth. In 2014 - last year - we grew by 1.4% following seven years of negative growth. We are now creating jobs; we want to see much greater growth but last year, after seven years without creating jobs in Spain, 450,000 people found a new job.

This year 2015 will be better than last year, it will be better than 2014; we will grow and we will create jobs. That is the challenge. The priority aim for Spain at this time must be to create jobs. Job creation breathes life into people, but it helps everyone, because someone in work is someone who pays his taxes and who consumes; this means higher revenue for the public administration and consequently better public services. That is why it is always a national objective.

I express my thanks again, before finishing, to the CEO of Renault. The automotive sector is a much loved sector in our country, because there are many people who work in this sector, because there are many people who buy vehicles manufactured in Spain and because this provides our country with credit and prestige overseas.

I will finish up now. The Renault Group has been here in Spain now for more than 60 years. Back then Spain was not the European power that it is today, albeit with our difficulties and problems, nor was the Renault Group the world leader in the automotive sector that it has become. We have grown together and, if Spain has contributed a great deal to this industry, the Renault Group and the automotive sector as a whole, as I pointed out earlier, has also contributed to modernising our economic fabric. And this success responds to a very clear formula: the great company run today by Carlos Ghosn has committed to Spain as an investor destination and, in exchange, Spain has corresponded by providing the talent of our workers, their goodwill, their courage and their determination, with their love for their company and with the growing competitiveness of our economy.

I hope that this understanding is maintained…, I was going to say "for a lot longer". But no, I will say "forever". I am convinced of this and the best sign of this commitment for the future is the new model Kadjar which will soon start to be produced here in Palencia. I wish you every success with this model, which is undoubtedly what you deserve.

Thank you very much.