Another company in the automotive sector is interested in the facilities that Nissan currently has in Barcelona, Punch Powertrain. This Belgian company wants to invest 650 million euros and keep more than half of the jobs in 2020, before the pandemic and the closure notice of the Japanese.
When we talk about the Nissan factory in BarcelonaBy default we refer to the one in the Free Trade Zone, where vehicles have been leaving for 40 years. Actually, there are two more, one in Sant Andreu de la Barca and another in Montcada i Reixac, all in the same province.
The Japanese manufacturer announced last year its intention to abandon all facilities and take the music elsewhere. The main reason, understandable, has been with the main factory underutilized for years because the 2013 product plan, which should have saved the complex, has crashed in terms of sales. And there are more reasons.
The million dollar question is who will be the new tenant of these facilities. Today we learned that you have joined the list of potential Punch Powertrain, a manufacturer of efficient vehicle powertrains based in Belgium. He’s interested in the “complete package,” the three locations that Nissan still occupies.
Nissan factory in the Free Zone (Archive)
Punch Powertrain has put an offer on the table to acquire the three facilities, in addition to investing in their conditioning, in products and in hydrogen. Total, we are talking about an investment of 650 million euros that will come from pearls to the Catalan automotive sector.
Guido Dumarey, the CEO of Punch, indicated that these facilities are the most suitable for his vision of zero emissions in the long term, based on electric and hydrogen kinematic chains: “The facilities in Barcelona are perfect for Punch’s ambitions, taking into account our need for a skilled workforce and a strong supplier base”.
The crux of the matter in such an industry is, among other things, its location. The good thing about the Barcelona area is that it already has a pool of suppliers that work with SEAT and Nissan -as well as other manufacturers-, so the location is attractive in itself.
The alarms in Barcelona began to sound in 2017, when the rhythm of more than 100,000 units per year was lost, half of its maximum capacity
On the other hand, Punch will try to keep as much employment as possible. At the end of 2023, his company plan contemplates having 1,000 workers on the payroll, and double by 2025. These are data for the reindustrialization committee to evaluate.
Despite looking good numbers, in reality there will also be net job destructionSince 3,000 people worked directly at the three Nissan facilities last year. Anyway, it’s understandable, Punch’s plans are less labor intensive.
One of the consequences of the electrification of the car is that the number of parts is drastically reduced in pure electric cars, especially mobile ones, so production is simpler and can be robotized more. There are surplus workers, in other words.
Detail of the new e-DCT double clutch automatic gearbox for Peugeot and DS – Photo: Punch Powertrain
Right now the Punch Automotive catalog is adapted to the technologies that are being used now, comprising hybrid solutions (thermal + electric), gearboxes, energy recovery systems, etc. Punch’s trajectory spans four decades, like Nissan in Barcelona.
One of its next launches will be the hybrid gearboxes (with integrated electric motor) for STELLANTIS, which will make their debut next year. The relationship goes back a few years, since 2018, when they then signed the agreement with the PSA Group.
Regardless of whether Punch Automotive stays with the three locations, one thing is clear, its future inevitably depends on adapting to the new reality of the automobile: the combustion engine has an expiration date in Europe in less than 15 years, and those who do not adapt will close.