Pedro Nueno: “It makes all the sense in the world for Chery to invest in Catalonia”

Barcelona (ACN).- The professor of business direction and administration for IESE, Pedro Nueno, assured that conversations between the Catalan Government and the Chinese automobile company Chery “are fully underway”. Nueno claims that “it makes all the sense in the world” that the company invest in Catalonia, and that it is fully compatible with the company’s decision to open a production plant in Turkey, as they are two completely different things. He also said that Chery decided “on its own to come” to Catalonia and visit the Seat factory in Martorell. Nueno, one of the promoters of the operation, warned politicians to “be agile and not hesitate” with this opportunity.

Nueno is directly participating in the operation as a consultant in the conversations between the entities. The president of the Catalan Government, José Montilla, travelled to Shanghai in September to meet with Chery’s director. When asked if he believes the negotiations will be successful, Nueno responded that “Barcelona’s port is a good one” and that “nowadays a company cannot be important in the sector without being comprehensive”.

We have a “distracted” administration

Nueno, an expert on the automobile industry, stated that both the Catalan and Spanish administrations are “distracted” when it comes to the real economy and the importance it has on the automobile sector as well as the power and capacity it has on other economic sectors of high added value. He warned, “sometimes very silly things are said”, adding that “it is sad that our leaders sometimes have doubts or do not know the sector very well”.

Nueno acknowledges that the sector has been going through tough times lately and that “things haven’t been done well”, but he insisted on “competitiveness” from Spain against other countries in car manufacturing. He wanted that “we need to reinvent the industry from here or others will do so”.

With this, Nueno added that there are over 80 car-manufacturing plants in Europe that cost twice as much in labour as they would in Spain. He also spoke of the advantages in Spain, and especially Catalonia, to produce cars because of its important network of suppliers, links with sub sectors of high added value, wide range of human resources, highly qualified workforce and port with a wide infrastructure network for distribution and logistics. There is also its strategic location, situated at the “centre of gravity”.

All in all, Nueno insists on the “industrial logic” Chery would have to open a plant in Catalonia, where there is already a long tradition of auto manufacturing with Seat and Nissan.

Electric cars

Nueno stated that in the next 10 years, the sector will undergo a “brutal” restructuralisation process, merging several companies and working internationally, especially with China and India. Regarding electric cars, he said that there are still “many doubts” about its viability, despite having designed all the prototypes.