James Warren
SEAT, the Spanish offshoot of German car manufacturer Volkswagen, has announced that it plans to invest a whopping €5 billion into keeping manufacturing in Spain.
Along with other car manufacturers, Seat are ramping up efforts to produce new and exciting electric vehicles to meet with stricter EU guidelines.
Seat’s chairman Carsten Isensee told a press conference this afternoon that the brand will inject its largest investment in recent history to conduct research and development of electric vehicles at its Martorell plant in Barcelona.
The pledge comes at a price however, as Isensee insists that the funding will only come if the government delivers on it’s promise to step up renewable energy production and revamp its charging structure.
Pedro Sanchez’s recent plan to invest heavily in the ailing Spanish motor industry has been called a ‘step in the right direction’ by Isensee.
But he maintains that more needs to be done to increase demand in electric vehicles.
This statement is even more understandable after the Spanish brand reported a record €48 million loss in the first quarter of 2020.
Demand for vehicles dropped significantly due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We are confident we will recover,” said an optimistic Isensee, our Barcelona plant has been working at the same rate as before the pandemic.”
This comes despite the closure of its Martorell plant during the pandemic and the furlough of thousand of workers.
Seat launched its first all electric vehicle last year with the compact Mii and plans to launch a further six models by 2021, including the upcoming el-Born hatchback.
