The old Nissan will be resurrected this Saturday with the start of production of the first Ebro cars | Economy

The photo of a new phase of construction of the old Nissan plant in Barcelona’s free zone starting this Saturday also puts an end to the tortuous path of its reindustrialization. And this is a slightly different photo than expected. In mid-2020, the Japanese multinational announced the closure of the plant, and in December 2021, the last car left the plant, ending its 41-year history. From day one it became known that the plant would close, and the search began for an industrial alternative so that operations could continue, so as not to lose jobs and preserve all the supporting industry that was around Nissan. It hasn’t been easy, but this Saturday the reindustrialization will finally begin with the official launch of the Ebro S700 production line.

This is the result of an alliance signed in April between Chinese car maker Chery and EV-Motors, owner of the Ebro brand and the company that took control of the company that runs the industrial center and plant. Along the way, QEV Technologies, which was called the leading company for the re-industrialization of this plant, withdrew from the project and is in pre-bankruptcy proceedings. And of the 1,250 workers awaiting relocation starting Jan. 1, 2022, 150 are on that first machine, 650 are hired on training programs, and the rest the company and unions believe will be relocated before 2026.

The production line has been running for several weeks now, producing the first cars from pre-production to complete the polishing operation. But the official event, which will take place on Saturday afternoon, is set to kick off the new phase of the former Nissan, now called the Ebro Factory. The event will be attended by the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Jereu, and the Chinese Ambassador to Spain, Yao Jing. They will be joined by EV-Motors President Rafael Ruiz and Ebro President Pedro Calef, as well as Tongyu Yin, President of Chery and Guibin Zhang, President of Chery International. Hereu and Illa, along with several government advisors, will later meet at the Pedralbes Palace with the Chairman of the National People’s Assembly of China, Zhao Leji.

Not in the photo will be those responsible for QEV, which, under the Zeroid brand, wanted to lead the reindustrialization with its electric vans. Last week, QEV sold its stake in the company to EV-Motors for three million euros, nine million less than the originally planned maximum amount. The start of the reindustrialization of the old Nissan could have been more complete if, as planned, Chery cars had also begun to be produced. But in September, the Chinese automaker decided to delay the start of production of its Omoda 5 until next year. Both those responsible for the plant and the trade unions do not see this as bad news, because with this decision Chery will begin to directly produce an electric car, and it will also be produced in CKD mode, that is, parts will come from China, are disassembled and assembled here, so there will be more around the car workload and more industrial activity, including for ancillary companies that hope to regain lost dynamism within three years. “This is when things will really pick up and there will be more opportunities for the entire industry,” industry sources say.

For now, the Ebro S700 will start being produced in DKD mode (with cars that come semi-assembled and don’t require as much labor), the SUV will have a combustion engine version and a plug-in hybrid version, and that earlier by the end of this year it will already appear on the market. On the same assembly line, by the end of 2024, the Ebro S800 model will begin to be assembled using the same scheme, also in both engine options. And next year the first Chery will appear with Omoda 5, as well as the smallest model in the Ebro line – S400.

Company sources explain that approximately 150 people are needed every time a production shift starts, which is the number of workers that will be involved in the production of the Ebro S700. With the advent of the S800, the staff will increase to 300 people. There will be 500 workers there by the summer, and 800 by the end of 2025. The goal is that by 2026, the 1,250 workers who were left waiting to be relocated after Nissan’s closure could be reinstated (affecting about 2,500 employees, but half left the company). in good conditions with early retirement or voluntary dismissal).

Of this reserve, about 800 are already at the plant, among those already working on the Ebro model and those undergoing training – they all earn the same salary according to the metal contract plus an additional 20%. Others have long since exhausted their unemployment benefits and are waiting to take other jobs. “Everyone wants to come back. The workers experience this with great joy and enthusiasm, they want the project to move forward. This will be an important milestone in the recovery of all unfinished positions, and the credit goes to the workers,” says Roberto Carlos Pacheco, representative of CC OO in Ebro.

Ebro’s goal is to exceed 20,000 vehicles produced in 2025, and together with Chery, they are expected to reach even 200,000 vehicles in 2029. The forecasts have not yet been fulfilled, but reindustrialization has already begun.