St. Gobain of Aviles is set to produce windshields for the 2023 Tesla Model 3 plan, aiming for about 50,000 units. This aligns with the company’s goal to capture models with high added value, even as the factory anticipates production below one million that year, after an earlier forecast for 2022. The forecasted output for the front window is around 936,000 units.
The launch of Model 3 production in China marked a pivotal milestone for Tesla, allowing the company to dodge steep US tariffs through localized manufacturing. The Saint-Gobain fitted cars in China thus compete at more favorable prices, a crucial factor given China’s position as the world’s largest market for electric vehicles. Saint-Gobain supplies a broad range of high performance products to the automotive and marine sectors.
The group delivers pre-assembled windshields, side and rear windows, glass roofs, and complete modules to leading automakers worldwide. With tempered, laminated, tinted, or coated glass, Saint-Gobain Sekurit materials help reduce vehicle energy use while meeting safety and comfort needs for users.
Wayne and the Avilés project team continue to evaluate the construction of a furnace for high value-added products. The effort seeks to boost windscreen department efficiency, though plant managers have cautioned that decisions await input from Avilés factory leadership and the unions CCOO and SOMA-FITAG-UGT.
Management has also warned about a less optimistic outlook for the Sekurit windshield division. For the first time, production is expected to dip beneath the 2021 reference of 1,050,000 windshields by the close of the current fiscal year.
market insecurity
The drop in glass production mirrors broader auto industry uncertainty about new models. This climate prompts delays in vehicle purchases and a global chip shortage crisis, along with gaps in essential materials for car manufacturing.
Saint-Gobain is incorporating the Avilés plant into its low carbon footprint glass production plan. The company has already conducted successful tests at its French factory, and there are plans to extend the technology to Spain. The project emphasizes circularity by using more recycled glass and cullet in the production process. This approach offers two environmental benefits: it promotes the reuse of glass as a highly recyclable material and reduces the need for raw materials like silica sand, while lowering furnace energy consumption as demand rises and furnace calorific value drops.
worries about voluntary departures
Worker representatives at the facility welcomed the group’s pressure and unity, which led the company to withdraw proposed layoffs amid ongoing labor tensions. A statement from CSI noted that the company now seems to favor a plan B that involves negotiating with various worker groups to reduce the workforce through multiple avenues.
The workforce expresses concern that these negotiations could create an uncertain atmosphere at the plant. They warn about possible actions if the company acts without transparent communication, emphasizing that the future remains uncertain and should not be underestimated at this stage.
Following a July 9 start of a twenty-day strike, the core issue remains unresolved: the impact of the wider auto market crisis on production. The company has already reduced total output at its Avilés and Arbós facilities, Tarragona, by almost a third between 2018 and 2021, which translates to more than five million glass parts no longer leaving these plants. The labor representatives anticipate further steps and a collaborative approach to facing the ongoing crisis.