The Spanish Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, María Reyes Maroto, is taking steps in Paris, before the leadership of the Renault and Stellantis automobile groups (Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Chrysler) so that they make new investments in Spain soon and guarantee thus the vitality of a sector undergoing profound technological transformation.
Reyes Maroto is taking advantage of his presence in the French capital, where he is participating in a ministerial meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on corporate social responsibility, to offer guarantees to the French-based auto giants that their decisions to expand their industrial activity in Spain will be supported at the highest level. "What the Government of Spain is doing is accompanying, generating certainty and confidence so that important companies such as Renault and Stellantis continue to invest in our country," said the minister, this Tuesday, at the OECD headquarters. Reyes Maroto met yesterday with the CEO of Renault, Luca de Meo, and tomorrow, Wednesday, she will do so with the Stellantis staff.
"It is essential that the investments they are going to make are made in Spain", stressed the minister, who recalled that Renault has two production plants in Spain and Stellantis three. According to Reyes Maroto, the Government "cannot wait for them to come" but rather "you have to go to the decision-making centers" of the companies. Its meetings also serve to find out what are the technological innovations that are being prepared in the immediate future.
The head of Industry recalled that in the first call for the Perte (strategic projects for economic recovery and transformation), Renault received 40 million euros of State subsidies and Stellantis 67.5 million. The Government's objective is for both groups to present new projects in the second call for the ambitious investment initiative. "They are two companies committed to our ecosystem and what we want is for them to continue investing and for us to be able to talk about this future, in this case electrification", added the minister.
Reyes Maroto considered that it is not a problem that Renault has chosen Spain for its development of hybrid vehicles, despite the fact that this technology will no longer be able to be marketed in the EU after 2035. According to the minister, "hybridization is an alternative way of reaching where we want to go, which is that in the year 2035 our park is decarbonized".
"Anyone who wants to invest in Spain is going to have a government that is committed to the future -continued Reyes Maroto-. The automobile industry was present but we did not have a guaranteed future".
Regarding the OECD meeting, the minister has emphasized that companies assume their responsibility to cushion as much as possible the effects of the covid crisis and the war in Ukraine. Reyes Maroto has spoken of "the need to distribute the burdens of war and not always pay the same."
Reyes Maroto, who will be a socialist candidate for mayor of Madrid, meets this Tuesday with the mayoress of Paris and frustrated socialist candidate for the Elysee, Anne Hidalgo. Reyes Maroto wants to be inspired by Parisian policies regarding mobility and access to housing for young people.
