Car manufacturer SEAT, whose factory is in Barcelona, is present for the first time in Shanghai. Its cars will be seen in China’s roads as of 2012. Audi also officially introduced its new crossover model, the Audi Q3, which will be entirely produced in Barcelona. Auto Shanghai 2011 closes its doors on April 28 and is the main show of this kind in Asia.
The new employees hired will be people currently out of work. The Spanish car manufacturer, which is part of the Volkswagen group, has its factory in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. SEAT will for the next five years invest 300 million euros annually.
Production will be transferred to the country of origin of the group, Italy. The Catalan motorbike brand Derbi was bought in 2001 by Piaggio. The decision affects more than 230 jobs.
The Japanese company has finally chosen to manufacture the new van in a factory in the Catalan capital. The decision comes after workers agreed to a change in their labour conditions including a freeze on salaries until 2014.
The Japanese company rejects the candidacy of its Catalonia factory for manufacturing the new car because it is not 'competitive'. The deputy CEO of Nissan in Spain blames the unions for not accepting new labour conditions which would have accommodated Nissan's interests.
The professor of business direction and administration for IESE, Pedro Nueno, assures that conversations between the Catalan Government and the Chinese auto manufacturer Chery are “fully underway”.
Seat will invest 300 million euros in investigation, development and innovation this year, 6 to 7% of its profit. Seat’s ambitious project ‘Forma 0’ aims to create lighter, safer cars.
700 workers from the Martorell factory next to Barcelona will temporarily lose their jobs. They will return to work in June of 2011. The company still has to negotiate the conditions with unions.
The automotive company SAS has just announced the closure of its factory in Martorell. The closure will result in 124 employees out of work. SAS made the decision to close its factory after loosing its contract with its cockpit supplier.
Catalan President José Montilla visited the Chinese car manufacturer Chery to convince the board to set up its Western European factory in Catalonia. The factory would produce 300,000 cars per year and bring 10,000 new jobs to Catalonia. A task force has been set up, although a final agreement has not been reached.