Alex Trelinski
A JOINT venture will see €4.1 billion spent on a new electric car battery factory in Zaragoza with an opening date of late 2026.
Stellantis and Chinese battery maker CATL say the plant would produce lithium-iron phosphate batteries — also known as LFP — which are cheaper than conventional units and therefore more attractive to potential car buyers.
The batteries will power Stellantis’ electric vehicle production in Spain, which has a variety of brands including Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, Opel, Alfa Romeo and Lancia.
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The venture would bring ‘innovative battery production to a manufacturing site that is already a leader in clean and renewable energy’, Stellantis’s chairman John Elkann said.
Robin Zeng, CATL’s chairman and CEO, visited Madrid on Monday, where he met with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Sanchez travelled to China in September to seek backing for the country’s automotive sector.
Breaking ranks with the EU, he said he opposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and urged
Spain will help fund the Stellantis and CATL plant with the EU’s recovery funds, of which the country is the second largest recipient.
The Zaragoza site would be CATL’s third factory in Europe; the other two are wholly owned by the battery maker.
Spain — Europe’s second largest car producer after Germany — is emerging as a winner for some battery investments, due to advantages such as lower energy costs.
An electric car battery is being built by Volkswagen in Sagunto(Valencia province) and there are plans for two others in the country.
