The Government attends to the requests of the engine and will approve measures to boost demand

The Government will promote measures to stimulate the demand for vehicles in the short and medium term to favor the reactivation and adaptation of the automotive industry towards efficient and sustainable mobility options once the Covid-19 crisis ends.

This has been transferred to the main employers of the automobile in Spain the fourth vice president and minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, and the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, this Wednesday in a telematic meeting. The director of the Department of Economic Affairs of the Cabinet of the Presidency of the Government of Spain, Manuel de la Rocha, was also present.

Ribera and Maroto have assured that measures will be implemented to strengthen investment and industrial innovation and the future competitiveness of the sector, in line with the economic recovery plan prepared by the European Commission and with the European Green Deal.

Anfac (manufacturers), Faconauto (dealers), Ganvam (distribution) and Sernauto (suppliers) have presented to the Executive their post-Covid strategy to relaunch the sector. In it, they demand a plan to boost demand with an endowment of 400 million euros and that no technology is discriminated against as in the Incentive Program for Efficient and Sustainable Mobility (Moves), limited to electric models.

In addition, they request that the current registration tax be changed to a new one that taxes the park according to its CO2 emissions; that ERTE can be applied due to force majeure beyond the state of alarm and that the settlement of taxes and contributions is postponed, among other measures.

The engine – which accounts for 10% of GDP and 9% of the active population – is one of the sectors that is suffering the most from the coronavirus. It is estimated that at least 350,000 people – across the entire value chain – have been affected by ERTE.

The employers defend that the exit from the crisis is not possible without the recovery of the automotive industry. In this context, they highlight that each million euros allocated to aid for the renewal of the car fleet represents 1.7 million in tax collection -mainly for VAT and registration-.

They also consider that there should be “greater coordination” between ministries, since the measures needed by the sector are transversal and require the participation of several administrations.

The four employers have positively valued the meeting by agreeing with the Government on the relevance of the sector in Spain and on the urgency of implementing measures to reverse the impact that the pandemic is having on it.

Thus, they have insisted that the priority in the short term is to ensure the reopening of production plants and concessionaires and reactivate demand, as well as ensure the liquidity of the business fabric of the sector and delve into labor flexibility measures.

“The automotive industry is the largest export sector in the country, contributes very positively to the state coffers and has a huge tractor effect on the economy as a whole. Its momentum benefits multiple segments and it is necessary and urgent to recover this rhythm, “said the president of Anfac, José Vicente de los Mozos.

For her part, the president of Sernauto, María Helena Antolin, stressed that the promotion of investment and industry 4.0 is “key”. “In this way, the competitive advantage that we need in Spain to continue being chosen by foreign manufacturers as recipients of their vehicle models and component manufacturing is underpinned,” he said.

The president of Faconauto, Gerardo Pérez, has thanked the predisposition and dialogue of the Government and has considered that a new taxation for the automobile would favor the renewal of the park and accelerate the arrival of vehicles powered by alternative energies.

“It is to be appreciated the effort that the Government is making to alleviate the shock that the pandemic has entailed and it is undoubted that we reach out to propose solutions that can cushion the effects of the economic crisis, but making it clear that if the liquidity of the productive system in general and of our companies in particular is not guaranteed in an agile way, public debt can rise to 115% of GDP due to the effect of defaults,” warned the president of Ganvam, Raúl Palacios.

Source: Five Days