Speech by the President of the Government of Spain during his visit to the Seat Factory in Martorell at the start of production of the Cupra Raval and the Volkswagen id.Polo (Barcelona)

Martorell (Barcelona)

SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SPAIN, PEDRO SÁNCHEZ

Good afternoon, dear President, Salvador; Minister, Jordi; mayors; mayoress; CEO of Volkswagen Group and Seat Cupra; Matías; workers; authorities; ladies and gentlemen. First of all, good morning to you all.

Secondly, I would like to thank you for being able to join us on this important day for Seat Cupra and the Volkswagen Group, culminating a process of electrification with the start of production of the Cupra Raval, the first 100% electric vehicle manufactured in Spain. It is early days, but it is a source of great pride and, above all, a source of hope.

As the chairman has said, we produce "made in Spain" models such as the Seat 600, Today, however, we are celebrating the official launch of the mass production of "made by Spain" models, which I believe is a play on words, but which also has its nuances, such as the Cupra Raval, and the production of Volkswagen and Polo, which as has already been said, are going to help democratise electric mobility in Spain, of course, as well as in Catalonia and in Europe as a whole.

Two other urban electric models are soon to be added, both of which will be manufactured in Navarra. And on this path towards electric and sustainable mobility, they have clearly not been alone. The Government of Spain, and I would like to thank each and every one of the speakers for this, because it has also been with the sector in this transformation, in this change that is the new reality, as was mentioned earlier.

The automotive industry is fundamental, it is essential for Spain and for Catalonia. We are the second largest producer in Europe, the eighth largest in the world. The sector accounts for around 10% of our GDP. So we are talking about spectacular figures. It creates almost 2 million direct and indirect jobs.

What is more, we export more than 90% of our production and we have a presence in every one of the regions of Spain.

I honestly believe that the public-private partnership that we have been promoting since even before the pandemic, back in 2020 for the transformation of the automotive sector, that public-private partnership has been key to the transformation that the sector is undergoing in Europe, in Catalonia and in Spain.

I believe it is the best strategy to mitigate the effects of the climate emergency, to create in sustainability those levers of opportunity to create jobs, enterprise and prosperity to modernise factories. I was saying to the trade union representatives on the visit we made earlier that the change since I last had the opportunity to visit this Martorell plant years ago, is substantial. This is so in the technological field and, of course, in the field of working conditions, with the aim of modernising the factories, attracting investment and ensuring that the automotive industry in Catalonia and in Spain continues to be a relevant industry.

Therefore, public-private partnerships have been and will be fundamental in the transformation of the sector. And we are, of course, empathetic to what is being said about the industrial policy to be followed in Europe for the automotive sector.

As president of this country, I am proud to see Spain at the forefront of electric mobility thanks to an investment effort driven by the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

I always say that in this Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, in this strategic project that is the electric and connected vehicle, we have always been with each and every one of the automotive brands.

But I have to say that I have a particular fondness for this project that we have co-led with Volkswagen, Seat and Cupra. Because there have been many hours of negotiation and many disagreements, but in the end this great consensus for modernisation, transformation and public-private collaboration I believe has brought us to this horizon full of hope that we are claiming today.

The five calls of the Electric and Connected Vehicle PERTE have mobilised no more and no less than 4 billion euros of public funds over the years and have in turn leveraged billions of private funds. There is also, therefore, belief in competitiveness and in the automotive sector on the part of private investors.

More than 1,900 investment projects implemented across most of the plants in our country have been approved thanks to these 4 billion euros, including for example, the electrification of this very plant and the construction of the gigafactory in the city of Sagunto. It is also rather inspiring to know that Sagunto was a city that suffered deindustrialisation in the 1980s, while today it can be held up as the paradigm of the new digital and green reindustrialisation in Spain and Europe. And we also owe this to the commitment of the Volkswagen Group, Seat and Cupra in our country.

The Auto 2030 Plan, to which I referred earlier, I believe sets out the roadmap for continuing the transformation of the sector, to adapt it to a more sustainable and, of course, technologically more competitive model over the next five years.

I know that much remains to be done, but I believe that this conversation, this dialogue and this agreement between the companies, the representatives of the automotive sector in its broad spectrum in Spain, and the Government of Spain with the regional governments, is also being very positive for the industries, for the companies and, of course, for the users of these vehicles.

Seat is an iconic brand in Spain. We have discussed this on many occasions, both in private and public meetings. It is a fundamental element of the Spanish ecosystem and even of our country's identity. And so, let us carry on working together to complete this exciting transformation process; to turn Catalonia and Spain into a benchmark hub for electromobility in Europe.

And all that remains for me to say is congratulations to the whole family from Martorell, to the Volkswagen Group for this brand new Cupra Raval and of course, also the new Polo. Once again, I believe that we are making inroads in our country's industry.

And I would also like to make a request: I have been President of the Government of Spain, at the head of the Administration, for eight years. In these eight years, I can say that I have only been an indirect witness because I have not been able to drive any of these cars, so let's see if you will at least allow me a couple of hundred metres to be able to drive this Seat, this Cupra Raval or the Polo, because I think they are indeed fantastic looking cars that I am convinced are going to have a very positive response from the Catalan, Spanish and European market. I am truly proud once again to see Catalonia and Spain become the hub of electromobility in Europe. We need it.

We need a stronger Europe. And in this regard, the Volkswagen Group must be in no doubt: Spain, the Government, is going to be on your side, because I believe we are not only gambling with the future of such an important industry and of the jobs and companies in the same ecosystem, but we are also gambling with the prosperity of Europe. And in this, of course, Spain is going to be on your side, standing shoulder to shoulder and fighting for a stronger Europe. Congratulations. Best of luck and thank you.

(Transcript edited by the State Secretariat for Communication)