Almost half of Chery exports now made outside of China as it targets 70% by 2030 At a recent event, Zhang Guibing, executive vice president of Chery Automobile, revealed that approximately 48% of the vehicles it has exported this year have been manufactured outside of China. As the company pursues greater localisation of its manufacturing footprint around the world, it expects this to rise to 70% by 2030. James McLoughlin
Ford balances Chinese exports to Europe with local production plans As carmakers in Europe look at ways to compete with Chinese electric vehicle imports, Ford is balancing plans for greater localised production in Europe while continuing exports from China in collaboration with local partners. Marcus Williams
Ford's new European SUV to be built on GEA platform in Valencia, Geely confirms An Conghui, chairman of Geely Automobile's board of directors, has confirmed that Ford's new European crossover will be built on the GEA architecture, further deepening the localisation of Ford's European supply chain. Ilkhan Ozsevim
Ford and Geely launch joint venture to produce vehicles in Valencia The US' Ford and China's Geely Auto will form a joint venture at Ford’s Valencia plant in Spain, producing multi-energy vehicles for the European market. Ilkhan Ozsevim
Seat gains stability with suppliers closer to home Seat is strengthening local and regional sourcing and locating key suppliers closer to production plants in Spain, helping it meet evolving production demands. Marcus Williams
Stellantis and Leapmotor's LPMI joint venture expands logistics partnership with Grimaldi Group Leapmotor International (LPMI), a joint venture between Stellantis and Leapmotor, has announced the continued expansion of its logistics partnership with the Grimaldi Group as it targets full-scale European production at two sites in Spain. James McLoughlin
Stellantis and Leapmotor plan full-scale production at two sites in Spain With Europe's OEMs focused on competing with the rapid growth of Chinese brands, automakers from both regions are looking for new ways to break into foreign markets, leading to new partnerships. Nick Holt James McLoughlin
PowerCo making battery cells at Salzgitter for Cell-to-Pack assembly at Martorell VW's PowerCo division has begun battery cell production at its Salzgitter gigafactory in Germany, supplying cells to a new assembly facility at the SEAT Martorell plant in Spain. Marcus Williams
Stellantis and CATL break ground on LFP gigafactory in Spain Stellantis’ 50:50 joint venture with battery maker CATL – Contemporary Star Energy – has broken ground on a 50 GWh lithium phosphate battery (LFP) gigafactory in Zaragoza, Spain, next to Stellantis’ assembly plant there. Marcus Williams
Great Wall Motor earmarks first European plant, targets 300,000 units per year by 2029 Great Wall Motor is exploring opening its first European plant, most likely in Spain or Hungary, and is aiming to produce an annual total of 300,000 vehicles by 2029 to revive its sales in the region. Ilkhan Ozsevim James McLoughlin
Spanish suppliers export €25 billion-worth of auto parts in 2024 Spain’s auto parts sector saw exports of €25 billion in 2024, with growth in non-EU markets offsetting declines in Europe. Marcus Williams
NYK to operate automated finished vehicle facility at the port of Barcelona port from 2027 Port de Barcelona has awarded NYK a concession to operate a inished vehicle logistics terminal that will feature a fully automated, multilevel parking facility, due to become operational in 2027. Marcus Williams
Seat’s logistics director Enric Brau wants to inspire boldness in digitalisation and electrification Enric Brau, who replaced Enric Martí as logistics director six months ago, is building on Seat’s foundation in logistics digitalisation, automation and AI to expand EV output, be more resilient and meet changing customer demands in the supply chain. Christopher Ludwig
Spain’s Vigo port records increase in vehicle throughput including trade out of Morocco Spain’s port of Vigo has maintained a top position in the ranking of European vehicle-handling ports in 2024, helped by an increase in trade with Morocco. It is also installing an onshore power supply from renewable sources for berthed vessels. Marcus Williams
Historic floods in Valencia impact automotive supply chain Devastating flooding in Valencia, Spain last week has hit automotive production in the region, with tier one supplier plants affected and a significant impact on logistics. Warehouses and distribution centres on industrial estates have been flooded which is affecting the supply chain. The extreme weather has also disrupted rail and road links in the region. Marcus Williams
Hödlmayr sets up Iberian subsidiary to expand sustainable finished vehicle logistics in Europe [Updated October 16] Hödlmayr has opened a new subsidiary business unit in Barcelona, Spain to provide customers with finished vehicle rail services along the Iberian peninsula. Marcus Williams
Antolin, Gestamp and Fersa embrace AI to transform industrial processes Autoparts from Spain, a collaborative digital project among automotive suppliers that provides intelligence on the automotive equipment and components industry, reports that the radical transformation of the industry supported by artificial intelligence (AI), is providing opportunities for tier suppliers, with benefits already registered by members Antolin, Fersa Bearings and Gestamp. Marcus Williams
Volkswagen relies on localisation in Europe for EV project Volkswagen Group has decided to make all-electric entry-level mobility more widespread, with affordable electric vehicles (EVs) made in Europe for sale in Europe, and will do so by relying on localisation on the continent. Megan Kelly
AD Ports’ Noatum enters European FVL market through Sesé acquisition Following its acquisition of Spanish maritime logistics provider Noatum last year, Abu Dhabi-based logistics firm AD Ports, has acquired finished vehicle logistics (FVL) firm Sesé Auto Logistics, part of Grupo Logístico Sesé. Megan Kelly
Peel Ports and Suardíaz set up sustainable logistics for EV parts deliveries to Stellantis Stellantis is benefitting from a sustainable logistics service opened this week that will see EV parts shipped from Spain via the port of Vigo and delivered to a new logistics hub at Merseyside docks in the UK. From there the parts will be moved to its nearby Ellesmere Port assembly plant. Marcus Williams
Barcelona port increases finished vehicle throughput in 2022 The port of Barcelona reported an 18.4% increase in finished vehicle handling in 2022, moving more than 591,000 vehicles through the year. That growth was driven by imports and transhipment volumes, which increased +63% and +145.7% respectively. Marcus Williams
Continental using Toledo distribution centre to speed deliveries in Spain Groupe CAT is operating a newly built logistics facility near Toledo in Spain aimed at making tyre distribution in the region more efficient for Continental. Marcus Williams
Grupo Antolin automates logistics at Aragusa components plant Grupo Antolin is automating the movement of interior components within its Aragusa factory in Spain as part of an Advanced Manufacturing 4.0 strategy. Marcus Williams
Stellantis to benefit from short-sea delivery of parts into Ellesmere Port Stellantis is setting up a new twice-weekly shipping service with Suardíaz from the port of Vigo in Spain to the Queen Elizabeth II Eastham docks in the UK. Marcus Williams
Gestamp ups sustainability effort with stake in Gescrap Automotive parts supplier Gestamp has bought a third of Gescrap, the scrap recovery and recycling firm. Gestamp said the move would enable it to commit further to the circular economy and make greater use of recycled materials for its production of parts. It added that reduction of mineral extraction from iron and aluminium would have a direct impact by removing emissions from those supply chains Marcus Williams
Markus Haupt leads production and logistics at Seat Markus Haupt has taken over from Herbert Steiner as executive vice-president of production and logistics at Spanish carmaker Seat. Marcus Williams
Setram deploys megatruck for Seat vehicle shipments Spanish carmaker Seat is moving vehicles from its factory in Martorell to the port of Barcelona on a 25-metre megatruck provided by transport and logistics partner Setram. Marcus Williams
Seat adds logistics cobots at Martorell Spanish carmaker Seat has started using two autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) at its plant in Martorell for the picking of parts from its onsite storage warehouses. Marcus Williams
A game of two halves at Europe’s vehicle ports Volatility at Europe’s leading finished vehicle handling ports was made worse in 2020 by the impact of restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in the first half of the year and then by resurgent demand in the second half. Marcus Williams reports Marcus Williams
Christian Friedl takes over as director of Seat Martorell Christian Friedl is moving from Porsche to become director of Seat’s Martorell plant in Spain, starting from January 1. He replaces Rainer Fessel, who is moving to take over the management of the VW factory in Wolfsburg. Marcus Williams
Griffiths becomes president of Seat; Steiner takes over as VP of production and logistics Wayne Griffiths is taking over as CEO of Spanish carmaker Seat, while Herbert Steiner has been named the new vice-president for production and logistics. Illya Verpraet
Setting the scope for recovery and resilience at Seat Seat’s investment in supply chain visibility and logistics automation has helped it to better manage the disruption caused by the coronavirus. Marcus Williams talks to Juan Vivas, inbound manager at the carmaker’s plant in Martorell Marcus Williams
6 questions in 60 seconds…with Manuel Medina Burrull Manuel Medina Burrull, Seat’s finished vehicle distribution manager, talks to Victoria Johns about paperwork, promises and believing in yourself Victoria Johns
Seat begins drone deliveries to assembly lines at Martorell Spanish carmaker Seat is trialling the use of drones to move parts lineside at its Martorell plant near Barcelona. Lightweight components are being flown 2km from a warehouse in Abrera run by compatriot logistics company Grupo Sesé. The journey time is 15 minutes. Steve Garnsey
Reality check: How AR can improve efficiency in logistics A growing number of companies in the automotive industry are embracing the use of augmented and virtual reality technology for tasks such as part picking and inventory management, as well as for training. We look at some of the latest applications Abigail Williams
Containerisation: Why finished vehicle logistics needs to think inside the box While ro-ro is the traditional method of shipping finished vehicles, containerisation is becoming increasingly viable as the automotive industry decentralises and introduces more EVs. Growth in China and South East Asia offers particularly good opportunities Marcus Williams
Hanging in the balance Lower production output, slower growth in export markets and several regulatory and operational issues are threatening to unbalance Poland’s finished vehicle market Vladislav Vorotnikov
Changes are the only certainty at Ford of Europe Dirk Willmann, director of material planning and logistics for Ford Europe, outlines how the carmaker is improving visibility and adapting its vehicle logistics network across Europe to better manage customer demand and trade uncertainties. Christopher Ludwig
