Volkswagen and Renault plan to request funds from a revamped Spanish government scheme aimed at encouraging electric vehicle (EV) production in the country, while Stellantis and newcomer AEHRA may do so, the carmakers told Reuters.
Madrid will launch a new, more flexible version of the PERTE scheme around July, worth 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) after last year's initial funding round flopped, with only 27% of an earmarked 2.9 billion euros allocated.
It hopes the program, which draws on European Union pandemic support funds, will help Spain - Europe's second-largest car producer - stay in the EV race after losing out on investment to rivals in the region and further afield.
With subsidies offered by the United States under the Inflation Reduction Act adding to competition from lower-cost countries in the EU's east, expanding EV capacity is seen as vital for Spain's industrial future.
"Spain tried the best it could with the first (PERTE) but we need to make sure that the second one is a lot better and more flexible," said Wayne Griffiths, chief executive of Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) Spanish unit SEAT and chairman of the ANFAC Spanish vehicle manufacturing association.
"We need to speed up. We can't afford to lose any more time."
VW will submit a new PERTE request, which could imply manufacturing additional EVs or assembling batteries in Spain, projects not covered by the funds it received last year.
France's Renault (RENA.PA), which records show received 40 million euros in the first PERTE, also intends to take part in the new funding round, its chief strategy officer and manager for the Spanish market Josep Maria Recasens told Reuters.
Depending on the timeline and conditions, Renault could decide to manufacture more hybrid cars in Spain, Recasens said.
Spain secured the European Commission's authorization to relax the PERTE rules after tight conditionality was blamed for last year's low take-up, which led to the dismissal of two senior government officials.
Jose Maria Lopez, who is now in charge of the program, said he was confident the scheme's remaining 2 billion euros will be disbursed across twin tenders, for EV and battery production, to be launched around July.
Bids will now be individual, rather than through associations of large and small firms, and the selection criteria will be simpler. The deadline for investments to be executed has been extended to 2028 from the first scheme's 2025, a change VW's Griffiths said was "good news".
Reuters