[AUTO] "It will cost Nissan 1,000 million to close the Barcelona plant"

[YaKuZa--BoSs]

The Spanish Government has made it clear that Nissan would be cheaper to bet on Barcelona (300 million) than to close this plant

 

 

 

The Secretary General for Industry and SMEs has been very clear after the meeting held today with the unions of the Nissan plant in Barcelona: "Nissan is going to cost 1,000 million to close the plant; much more expensive than if you decide to invest in it" . Blanco put the investment for the continuity of the plant at around 300 million, given that "the company has not invested in the plant in 10 years."

Blanco explained that both the Government and the Generalitat, the Barcelona City Council and the Barcelona Free Trade Zone Consortium work jointly and in communication with the Japanese company, "at the Spanish and European level" to try to reverse the closure of the plant. This closure, of which "we still do not have official communication" would be announced next Thursday 28, when Nissan will announce its global strategy in which it plans drastic cuts.

Blanco affirmed that the administrations work "for the continuity of Nissan in Spain", not only for that of the Barcelona plant. "Ávila already has a plan for two years and it would be necessary to see how Corrales de Buelna would look, which is a foundry of parts for Nissan and Renault." The Cantabrian factory supplies parts, above all, to Nissan Sunderland for the Qashqai model.

In this sense, Blanco affirms that "for Nissan it would not be very logical business-wise to close its only plant within the European Union, given that Sunderland is in the United Kingdom", which since Brexit has not belonged to the Union.

ALTERNATIVE
The alternative in which "we continue to work" is the well-known alternative of bringing an electric vehicle to be manufactured at Nissan Barcelona, based on a small Alliance electric platform. "It was an alternative that was worked with the unions and presented to the company. Nissan liked it because before the coronavirus crisis, Barcelona was on the short list to opt for that proposal."

Blanco did not hesitate to affirm that "Nissan will not have a friendly position if it decides to close" and the administrations will act accordingly, claiming the public aid that the plant has received in the event of non-compliance with commitments.

The closure of the Barcelona plant according to Blanco would directly affect about 3,000 workers and about 30,000 throughout Spain if all the auxiliary companies around Nissan are included.

The idea of bringing an electric vehicle to Nissan Barcelona would not guarantee the full use of the plant, since an electric vehicle needs fewer parts than current pick-ups. However, Nissan Barcelona could become the hub of an electric vehicle hub. "Barcelona is an enclave that bets on this type of mobility with many projects in this regard."

In addition, the Government will continue working "in addition to providing a solution to Nissan", in parallel, "in the construction of said hub and if it were necessary to bring a battery factory to promote this technology, we would work on it." In January, Blanco participated in the meeting with the Chinese Government, EV100, which promotes investment in electric vehicles from the Chinese Government. "There were only Germany and England from Europe, which means we have taken a step forward."

"RENAUTL IS COMPETITIVE IN SPAIN"
As for the rumors that the French leg of the Renault Nissan Alliance could leave Spain aside, Blanco was blunt: "Renault's plants in Spain are among the most productive it has in the world. The company itself says so. Therefore, beyond talking about models, we must work to ensure that they remain competitive and workload. "

AID PLAN FOR THE SECTOR
Regarding the aid plan for the automotive sector, Blanco said that "we hope to have news in a few days." The idea that Industria has is "to collect what the four associations of the sextor [Anfac (manufacturers of automobile automobiles), Sernauto (manufacturers of components, Faconauto (automobile dealers), and Ganvam (vendors)] transferred to the ministers of Ecological Transition, of Industry and the Minister of Mobility on May 6 ". At that meeting the sector proposed a plan valued at 400 million.

Here Blanco explained that the plan would be in the short and medium term. In the short term, it would be a matter of "stimulating demand to recover the sales market"; but also it would be necessary to "stimulate the offer to help the industry in its transformation".

THE PROBLEM FOR THIS PLAN IS "BUDGETARY".
The Government has not approved the General State Budgets. Without them, there can only be aid of 65 million already provided in the second edition of the Moves Plan and which promote only electric mobility.