The cessation of sales of vehicles with polluting emissions by 2035 is putting pressure on car manufacturers in Portugal. One of the most notorious cases is Autoeuropa, given the weight of the Palmela plant in the Portuguese economy (see text above). For now, a source at the company points to a $500 million investment made late last year for the next five years to adapt the production plant to the new generation T-Roc, which should already have a hybrid version. . plugin.

The idea of ​​Brussels to aim at 100% elimination of emissions from passenger cars or light commercial vehicles with an internal combustion engine has received a negative opinion from the Portuguese government. The position was endorsed by the general secretary of Automóvel Portugal (ACAP): “The Portuguese government – ​​together with Italy, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia – even took a favorable position because it was trying with four more countries to get an extension of legislation by 2040 to give our manufacturers time for this transition”, stating that this scenario “will be the most positive”. However, the opposition of these four countries, including Portugal, was not enough, since the ban received the approval of all other member states.

And the proposal of the European Commission has already been approved by the European Parliament.

So, is the future of Autoeuropa at stake?

For now, according to former minister Mira Amaral, who brought the company to Portugal under Cavaco Silva’s government, the group will be interested in making the investment profitable, and only then will it think about the future.

“I believe that changing the platform to electric models is not yet possible until the amount invested now is reimbursed. But this is a question that will inevitably arise in four or five years.” In an author’s article published by an economist in Sunrise, in 2021 Mira Amaral has already left the future of Autoeuropa open. “Successive governments have concluded successful investment agreements with Autoeuropa. Will VW continue to bet on internal combustion engine (VCI) vehicles and after T-Roc will there still be a future for another VCI at Palmela, or will production have to be gradually adapted to hybrids and electric vehicles (EV)? these questions will determine the future of the Palmela plant.”

However, the economist regrets that Portugal continues not to talk about this topic, while Spain is already switching its industry to electric vehicles.

An opinion shared by Daniel Bernardino, coordinator of the working committees of the Industrial Park – satellite companies that supply Autoeuropa – in ensuring that both manufacturers and the Portuguese government do not expect this change. “We have been concerned about this issue, not least because we see a neighboring country with large investments in car electrification, and Portugal, from our point of view, is left behind in the face of competition from other countries,” he says Sunrise. And that is why he has already asked for meetings with the Minister of Economy and the Minister of Labor, but has not yet received any answer. This structure also calls for the intervention of the central trade unions. “We want everyone to walk in the same direction with us despite this numbness.” Read more: A source close to the industry is optimistic, assuring that Autoeuropa has a production plan for this model until 2027, and from then on it will be a strategy that builders will determine. But it leaves a warning:_“The blockade is only in Europe, brands continue to sell cars to South America, Africa and Asia. Only in Europe will we see this restriction in 2035.”

Daniel Bernardino also says that for the moment he has information that until 2030 the Palmela plant will continue to produce combustion engine vehicles and even a hybrid, acknowledging, however, that the plant “obviously needs to be prepared with investments and companies “. the industrial park will obviously have to invest in new electric models or hydrogen models.” And he adds that since Autoeuropa has become a mass production plant, with the transition to the production of 300 thousand cars per year, Portugal is already considered a car manufacturing country, also remembering that the PSA in Mangualda helped Portugal achieve this status and which announced last week, which invests in an electric model. An advertisement that he believes “is an encouragement to the industry”.

Earlier this month, Stellantis Group President Carlos Tavares guaranteed that the Mangualda plant would start producing cars with an electric motor. A solution that can guarantee the future of this plant, which employs about 900 people, for decades to come. “Teams in Mangualde are already preparing this transition so that if necessary, the plant has the flexibility to respond,” the manager said, also reassuring that “Mangualde’s cost levels and competitiveness” were key factors justifying the transition. solution.

Spain wins the race

Daniel Bernardino, despite the information he has, says that the German group may be making preparations so that Portugal can also be part of the trams so that it does not fall behind, and regrets that the country “does not make such investments as those that have already been made in Spain” – on the example of a battery factory in Valencia. “Unfortunately, we do not have this news, but we have already understood that there will be investments in a lithium plant in Setúbal, and this is a good indicator.”

But the examples don’t end there. The coordinator of the industrial park committees also reported on the announcement two weeks ago that Ford announced two electric models for Valencia, thus guaranteeing 25,000 jobs over the next 10 years. In Portugal, we have no news of this kind. Naturally, we cannot compare ourselves with Spain in terms of the automotive industry, but at the moment Germany itself is already concerned about what Spain is doing, ”he admits.

According to the official, the country lacks “lobby in the positive direction of the Portuguese government towards the European Union and car manufacturers so that we can be more attractive.” And emphasizes: “Obviously we lack the infrastructure for import and export, which makes us more air-conditioned, unlike what happens in Spain.”