Half a year after the ceremony attended by his successor Nissan inside Free zone, the reindustrialization of the land is entering a decisive phase. HE D-HubAccording to sources, the company, which is responsible for producing new cars in part of the 500,000 square meters of space left by the Japanese company, expects to conclude two important cooperation agreements more or less soon to provide activity for future assembly lines. Learn about the operation and get approval from D-Hub. The continuity of a significant part of the industrial project depends on the success or failure of these operations.
The puzzle has been revealed, now we need to finish placing the pieces. And the machine is already in motion and time is of the essence. They’re starting to form this month 300 former employees Nissan is expected to adapt to the changes of the electric vehicle in anticipation of joining the workforce at the beginning of the year. If nothing goes wrong, among the 100 employees of the motorcycle manufacturer Silence Approximately 500 workers from the old Nissan will be replaced, with 125 workers currently on staff at D-Hub, which has been occupying a part of the Free Trade Zone for months, and 300 workers to be signed shortly. It now needs to be stated how much work these employees will do.
When the Japanese closed they directly employed some of them. 2,500 people. Some are retiring early, and those responsible for reindustrialization promise to recruit the rest in the coming years, but delays in the process of allocating public land have delayed the entire operation, and some concerns remain among unions over the speed of the process. where mergers take place. It won’t be long before Nissan’s official two-year shutdown and unemployment benefits end.
The future of former Nissan factories depends on the Free Zone connection. Chinese And America. On the one hand, there is the Chinese manufacturer CherryIt aims to make Barcelona the gateway to the European market, as already developed by EL PERIÓDICO DE CATALUNYA of Prensa Ibérica Group.
A delegation of technicians visited the facilities at the end of September to finalize the deal, which could be signed before Christmas, according to sources familiar with the operation. But other actors involved in the process are also more reluctant to ring their bells. “Not everyone is clear on the financial viability of D-Hub,” these sources note.
Another potential customer that will operate the assembly lines of the former Nissan factory is Batlle MotorsAccording to ‘Expansión’, an American trucking company welcomes the assembly of its electric models designed for garbage collection in the Catalan capital, and this media was able to confirm this. However, the talks with the company in question are not as advanced as the talks with Chery, and there is currently no date for its possible landing.
‘Ikea’ model
The versatility that Nissan is relying on to extend its life in Barcelona for another decade (it was on the verge of closing in 2012) may be the main lever that keeps some of its employees working in the auto industry. At that time, multi-brand models such as ‘pick-up’ were being assembled in the Free Zone. Renault Alaskan wave Mercedes X-Class and now D-Hub aims to produce its own line of electric vehicles together with three other brands.
The first productions to be guaranteed are: Noneis D-Hub’s own brand. It’s a series of low-cost electric vans that will start being assembled in January, following a similar model to Ikea’s with its furniture, according to the company. D-Hub will purchase the vans from a Chinese company, and the company will ship them by freighter to Barcelona, where workers will unpack and reassemble them. According to knowledgeable sources, one of the first customers Slutplans to reship some of its trucks later Mexican.
The purpose of D-Hub is approximately 1,500 vehicles It was convened in 2024. From here, it aims to make a significant leap in quantity with its partnership with Chery. The Chinese who already showed interest during the Government period José Montillais now back on track and initial estimates point to annual production 50,000 pieces. Other sources consulted reduced this figure to around 30,000. I also follow the ‘Ikea’ model a bit. Chery would ship the parts to Barcelona, where workers would assemble the vehicles and then distribute them to the European market.
With this tactic, the Chinese company would avoid some of the taxes that would come with entering the European market by selling cars directly. Negotiations between D-Hub and Chery are advanced, they could be closed in the coming weeks, which would allow assembly of their vehicles to begin in spring 2024. However, despite the interest shown, no contracts have been closed yet. “Everything on the table is good, but these are still theories,” says one source consulted.
The proximity of the former Nissan property to the port of Barcelona is another strong point of the D-Hub expansion strategy. Because it allows you to easily send and receive goods by sea. One of the benefits Americans realize Batlle MotorsThey are scouting for successors to Nissan to assemble their electric trucks. But these speeches are greener than Chery’s.
Another manufacturer that plans to assemble its vehicles in the Free Zone is ebro, A historic company in Spanish motorsport that currently produces high-end cars and plans to revamp its catalog to produce an electric ‘pickup’ model Nissan NV200. Currently, this company is focused on homologation of the vehicle and it will not be in a position to start producing work on the D-Hub assembly line until the end of 2024.
Public and private support
Management support plays a key role in D-Hub’s rise. On the one hand, the Barcelona Free Trade Zone Consortium (CZFB) allocated industrial uses for some of the land in their awards, which provided opportunities for the automobile company since the budgets of logistics companies were much higher. In fact, D-Hub formed an alliance with Goodman real estate, which served as the initial financial backer.
The second leverage was achieved by jumping on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange with the help of an investment fund. SPEAR Investments. Capitalization earned him a valuation 211 million euros D-Hub’s lead company steps up to QEV and lets it rise 23.1 million Investing in the growth of the project, as reported by the company this week. The other leg of D-Hub is B-TechnologyIt has also recently made some capital increases. 16 million euros. Further steps are being taken in financing the project, but these steps continue to raise doubts among some of those involved.
On the one hand, private money, but also public money. Another lever that D-Hub had to expand its workforce was activated by management. Electric Vehicle received a reward of 53 million euros from Perte. The Generalitat then gave him a subsidy of 2.1 million euros last July to train 800 workers. And in the same week the Catalan Manager offered an injection. 33 million euros encouraging companies to recruit dual vocational training students, which D-Hub can partially benefit from.