When Arantxa Alonso (Madrid, 1976) went on stage in the hangar of the old and mythical Berlin Tempelhof airport, she explained that she had convinced her husband, her two children and her two dogs (sic) to accompany her to Anhui (in China) to control the assembly of thousands of Cupra Tavascan (Seat's new electric urban SUV) at the new Volkswagen factory there. China is not only the place where the model designed and developed in Barcelona will be produced, but it has also been a source of inspiration for Cupra engineers and designers. Like the illuminated logo.
“Front logo lighting had no chance of being legal in Europe until relatively recently. And yet in China yes. With which, we capture the innovation and start working on it so that it can be available for the time of production”, reflects Alonso.
That will be at the end of this year when series production begins. Seat president Wayne Griffiths said they expect to sell 70,000 units of the model. Two dozen Seat specialists have been in Anhui (between Shanghai and the infamous Wuhan) since before the pandemic, preparing the production of the new vehicles. Some even spent the pandemic in the Asian country. In fact, there are already Seat technicians who have returned after spending two years there, which is the average time that expatriates reside there.
Volkswagen has built the factory from scratch with a local partner that maintains 25% of the shares and where 3,500 people work. “At first there was nothing. They tell you the story of the trucks removing earth. It has really been starting from scratch. Which is great”, explains Alonso, who believes that the first vehicle to leave the Volkswagen plant is a Cupra rather than a risk. “We are not afraid to be the first. In fact, almost until we feel like it more, because you don't have to follow what someone else has already done. You can start from scratch and that gives you tremendous freedom. A factory, a development center, has been set up in only two years, after the pandemic, that is, the difficulties of movement. Solutions have been found for everything. That shows that you know what you want, what you dream of, you find ways”.
What is unknown is how geopolitical risks can affect the entire process since only the new model will be manufactured there. “That is impossible to control, just as it was impossible to control the pandemic. But hey, they are part of the challenges and I think there are more opportunities than disadvantages”, reflected Alonso who drives a Volswagen ID.6 in China because the Cupra Tavascan will not be sold in that market. Last week, President Griffiths recalled that the company could not miss the opportunity to already have an electric car with the characteristics of the Tavascan, which cannot now be produced in Martorell. The cars will arrive by boat because the international political situation makes it impossible for it to be by land. It is by no means the first car from the Seat company to be manufactured outside of Martorell, but it is the first in China.
“In China we can be completely safe because of the processes of the Volkswagen group. On a visit last week, the evaluation of the pre-series is better or similar to that of other launches”, according to Alonso.
The Seat directive ensures that all labor measures are met in accordance with the provisions of the Volkswagen consortium for the plant. “Sometimes you wonder if they are going to understand us so far. And the truth is that it took very little to be all together. In the end, the human part is what is important because cars are not assembled by machines, they are assembled by people and they are as 'plugged in' as we are”.
What happens if in the end the Tavascan fails as a model? “The car has a very good acceptance, it has a lot of potential. Obviously we have to stop waiting when we get to the market, but the information we have so far is very, very, very encouraging.” The target audience is defined by Alonso: “our client is always younger than the rest of a group. We are around ten years less than the average. And then, logically, he is someone with a medium-high purchasing power, he would say ”.
