The electric car ‘made in China’ steps on the accelerator in Spain. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès, attended today the official signing of the pact between Ebro EV-Motors and the Chinese manufacturer Chery Automobile for the production of cars at the plant of the Barcelona Free Zone left by the Japanese automobile brand Nissan. The Minister of Industry and Tourism of the Spanish Executive, Jordi Hereu, also participated in the event along with the Catalan Minister of Business, Roger Torrent, among other authorities.
Chery becomes the first Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles to install itself in the territory of the European Union (EU), amid tensions between Brussels and Beijing due to alleged unfair competition in this sector by the Chinese government. The CEO of Ebro EV-Motors, Pedro Calef, summarized the bases of the pact with the Chinese firm before the participants at the event.
Ebro and Omoda brand cars.
Firstly, he reported on the marketing of a new range of cars, which will be manufactured in Barcelona, and the future implementation of an R&D center in Barcelona to “make the appropriate adaptations to the European market.” . The launch of the first cars will take place at the end of this year 2024 and, as Calef has announced, there will be two models, one mid-range and one mid-high range, to add that the manufacturing of others is planned for 2025. . two more cars. “A total of 30 points of sale will also be created throughout Spanish territory, and it is planned to expand them in the coming years. In addition, a public-private investment of around 400 million euros is planned.
Secondly, the CEO of the Spanish firm has indicated that the Free Trade Zone will restart its production “shortly” with the aim of producing Ebro brand vehicles, in addition to the Omoda badge. In the latter case, at the end of summer, 150 workers will be reinstated to start the first production tasks. The objective is to reach a total of 1,250 employees, and even more, to reach 150,000 cars per year from 2029. Finally, Calef wanted to thank the participation and support of both the governments of Spain and Catalonia, as well as Thank all the employees who left Nissan for their “great effort and dedication.” “We are going to make that effort come true,” he concluded.
“Thousands of local jobs”
For his part, the Chery representative highlighted the “great honor” of having the presence of different top-level politicians at the signing of the agreement and stressed that the new factory “will generate thousands of local jobs; once “To achieve the planned increase, we will plan exports to the rest of Europe.” Chery wants to turn Barcelona into “one of the company’s main bases worldwide, adhering to the concept of “green energy and zero emissions.” carbon, ultimately contributing to the sustainable future of Spain”.
“It is not common to witness the rebirth of an emblematic brand and today we all share a feeling of joy. Ebro is part of the collective memory of the whole of Spanish society, who had trucks, vans, tractors… for many years; it is a “a brand that refers to one of the great rivers that unites no more and no less than six autonomous communities.” With these words, Sánchez began his speech, who recognized the value of this effort: “We are talking about up to 1,250 jobs from the old Nissan factory.”
“It is not common to witness the rebirth of an emblematic brand and today we all share a feeling of joy,” said Pedro Sánchez.
“It is a symbol of the reindustrialization process that Catalonia and also Spain are experiencing, to adapt to global challenges. Catalonia,” remarked the Highest Representative of the Executive. “We are the second largest car producing country and the eighth largest exporter worldwide, in addition to showing the “total commitment” between Spain and Catalonia: “Catalan companies are the ones that have received the most money from the electric vehicle PERTE and thanks to that, projects have been financed”.
