More than a thousand and one nights, especially 1,019 nights, have passed since Nissan announced to its workers that it was closing its plants in Catalonia and that its successor was officially blessed. 2 years 9 months 13 days”uncertainty and despair“since the Japanese firm started an earthquake that will claim up to 2,500 direct jobs, and company D-Hub has tied its future to its land, according to affected employees. Free zone. It promises to employ more than 1,000 of these former workers by 2024 and build an industrial capacity that will allow the assembly of approximately 70,000 electric motor vehicles by 2026. “Now we have to realize everything that is on paper,” said the President. Barcelona Free Zone Consortium, Peter Navarro.
They met at the General Staff this Monday. consortiumowns the land that Nissan has so far occupied, the top officials involved in reindustrialisation. Industry Minister Reyes Maroto attended the meeting, possibly one of his last acts before stepping down and focusing on his candidacy for mayor of Madrid. Also ‘conseller’ d’Empresa, Roger Torrentthat of the economy, MorePresident of Nissan Spain, Frank Torresunion representatives and the CZFB president, Father Navarro; among others.
Expression “historic day“This Tuesday was the most repeated by respondents who signed the search for Nissan’s successor. D-Hub was neither the first choice nor the most sought after, and it was hovering over doubts about its solvency and ability to meet all commitments, which no one denies.” We have successfully completed a difficult process,” Torrent admitted. 517,000 square meters D-Hub, which left Nissan, was successful.
Doubts about the solvency of the new project
And D-Hub was born out of an alliance between two Catalan advisors, QEV And btechAdding a total turnover of 22.7 million euros and 200 employees on the payroll between the two in 2021, according to the latest data published in the trade registry. Now they are set to build the first large electric vehicle factory in Catalonia, with a maximum production capacity of 180,000 vehicles per year – three shifts – and hiring more than 1,000 employees by 2024. Your alliance with an Australian-based real estate investor Good man It has been key to providing them with minimum solvency.
“I want to thank the managements,” said D-Hub CEO, Joan OrusIn the presence of journalists And as he admits, the leverages provided by the public to start the process have been “significant”. It received 65 million euros from the Government for its electric car share and its pre-investment commitment, which is more than double that amount. At this point, D-Hub had a hard time getting approval from banks and therefore lost some of its public funding.
And to this injection through European funds are added the guarantees of the Institut Català de Finances (ICF), willing to meet with public resources some of the obligations undertaken by D-Hub that it eventually failed to fulfill. The amount, the millionaire, has not been revealed, and those involved – both Generalitat and the company – are hiding behind a “banking secret.” Natalia Mas, the current ‘council member’ of the economy and president of the ICF, was previously the general manager of Industry and was one of the main supporters of the D-Hub option during the negotiation process.
New factory starts in 2024
With the start signal given for Nissan’s reindustrialization this Monday, D-Hub needs to start delivering on the commitments it has made to get the lease on the land in question. Publicly owned, very close to the city of Barcelona, well connected to the port and very popular with the logistics industry. That same month, the company confirmed that it would hire about 25 people to start the process of renovating the land and assets left behind by Nissan—machines and others.
Nissan’s asset transfer transaction for D-Hub has been finalized for some”hidden“Although the latter amount exceeds 30 million euros, and this is added to the fact that Nissan will keep a percentage from the sales of each vehicle collected in the Free Zone over the next seven years. The idea expressed by the CEO is Joan Orús, to open the factory and to reach 1,000 by 2025. It will hire at least 600 people by the beginning of 2024 to start with the employee.
In addition to the vehicles of the re-established brand, D-Hub plans to produce its own line of electric vehicles, the Zeroid minibus line designed for last-mile delivery. ebro and that other companies are considering installing at their own facilities. The medium-term target is that 60% of the vehicles assembled in the Free Zone will consist of these two brands, and the remaining 40% will be composed of companies that have commissioned them to manufacture their own models. And to sell them, Orús announced that they are already in talks with the first one. 50 dealers to place your products there.