The Figueruelas (Zaragoza) plant of the PSA Group has taken advantage of its third royal visit to celebrate the start of series production of the new Opel Corsa. How could it be otherwise, Carlos Tavares, executive director of the Group, was present during the day in which the King of Spain visited the plant facilities, on the occasion of the industrial launch of the sixth generation of the Corsa.
In fact, after meeting with workers and representatives of the Works Council , King Felipe VI has driven the first unit of the new Opel Corsa; while, after the institutional act, he has discovered a commemorative plaque and has signed in the honor book of the plant. Tavares, for his part, has acted as host of the ceremony, which was also attended by Yann Vincent, executive vice president and industrial director of the PSA Group; Michael Lohscheller, CEO of Opel and Vauxhall; Antonio Cobo, Vice President of Production and Supply Chain of Opel and Vauxhall; and Juan Antonio Muñoz Codina, director of the Iberian Cluster of the PSA Group.
Advances in the process
The Chairman wanted to highlight the progress made by the Group’s factories in Spain . “Both the Zaragoza plant and the Madrid and Vigo plants are making adequate progress in terms of competitiveness,” said Tavares. In fact, 500 new jobs have been created in the last year to carry out the planned production volume for the new Opel Corsa, whose forecast is 270,000 new vehicles, in case the market remains stable. However, he has ensured that the Mangualde (Portugal) and Kenitra (Morocco) factories continue to be even more efficient.
” We must not enter into this debate, ” explained the manager before adding that “it is not a competition and the best thing to do is to copy the best practices of each of the plants.” In this way, he has taken the opportunity to congratulate the Group’s factories for their work and the company in general for its sales in the national market, with 248,830 units registered so far this year, representing a total share of 22%.
An ambitious goal
Electrification will be key for the Group in the coming years , according to Tavares himself. “The road to achieve this has already begun and all the models that are launched from this year will have electrified versions. But these versions will still coexist for many years with other gasoline and diesel in the same model, thanks to the use of modular multi-energy platforms, which will allow the customer to choose the technology they want without giving up the model they want or need ”. In addition, he added that “it will allow our plants to manufacture gasoline, diesel and 100% electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles on the same assembly line, giving us the flexibility to quickly adapt to changes in demand, whether they come from market trends. as well as changes in the legislation ”. However, he also wanted to express the need to make society understand that electric mobility is more expensive than conventional mobility and that it can only be marketed with subsidies for vehicles and tax increases. “Electric mobility is the same as organic food. Is more expensive. And they are not telling the people that ”, the president concluded.
