Seat to invest €300M to open battery cell assembly factory near Barcelona

Car manufacturer SEAT will open a new factory in their Martorell complex outside of Barcelona focused on battery cell assembly, as announced by the company's president, Wayne Griffiths, on Monday.

The company is to invest €300 million in addition to the Spanish funding destined for electric vehicles (PERTE).

The factory will span 64,000 square feet - equivalent to nine football pitches - and will be located next to another of Seat's factories in the same city. 

Griffiths mentioned that "this is an important day that marks a step forward towards our electrification plan."

SEAT will directly employ 400 in the new facility and another 100 people indirectly.

The new facility will also produce the cells that will be used by the Volkswagen group's factory in Sagunto, in the Valencian region.

Griffiths commented that the new center will be "fundamental" for SEAT: "We are at a key moment for our industry. SEAT and the Volkswagen group are allocating a lot of resources to sustainable mobility." 

The company president also believes that Spanish and European institutions must be convinced by the sustainability project of the motor industry. "As happens in other countries, it is necessary to create a legal framework that ensures investment in the sector and promotes competitiveness," Griffiths said. 

Business minister hails "important news"

Catalonia's business minister, Roger Torrent, celebrated that the investment "guarantees the future of SEAT in Catalonia."

According to the minister, the deal was made possible by "the close collaboration" between the multinational and the Catalan government.

"It's very important news," Torrent said, that the new addition will mean that Catalonia will have "most of the value elements of the electric vehicle: assembly, research, and development and the electric platform in Martorell."

"During the 20th century we were a reference in southern Europe in the automobile sector and we want to continue to be one in the 21st century", he added.

For Torrent, SEAT is a "strategic partner" of the administration in the ecological and industrial transition.

The Government has provided direct aid of €89 million until 2026 for the electrification project promoted by the Volkswagen group.