SEAT President Luca de Meo shared his vision of the situation and the challenges facing the automotive sector in Spain. Speaking this morning at the New Economy Forum held this morning in Madrid, de Meo also addressed the need for a State Agreement that consolidates a long-term project and recognises the value of the automotive industry.
One of the focal points of his intervention was sustainability, which is one of the highest priorities for SEAT and for the sector as a whole. In this sense, Luca de Meo emphasised that “businesses cannot shift their responsibility to tackle climate change and work towards achieving the goal of zero emissions.”
Electrification plays a key role in reaching this goal and the President of SEAT took the opportunity to reiterate that “manufacturers can make hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles, but we need approximately 800,000 charging stations in Spain by 2040 in order to achieve these objectives.” There are currently around 11,600 fuel stations in Spain, so it will also be necessary to promote domestic and widely available charging infrastructure in public and private car parks, as well as transform how people consume mobility.
Luca de Meo also stressed that the vehicle population in Spain is 12 years old on average and forecasts indicate that it will continue to get older. He underscored the need to encourage its renewal with low and zero emissions vehicles “through favourable tax provisions as well as purchase incentives and aid for charging infrastructure that benefit and provide solutions to the public.”
Regarding the significance of the automotive industry in Spain, Luca de Meo said that “our industry represents 10% of Spain’s GNP; close to 2 million Spanish families are directly and indirectly involved in the sector and we are 85% more innovative than the national industry average. But our sector amounts to much more: we bring progress and prosperity to society.”
Regarding the importance of businesses and public entities working together, he also pointed out that “the new mobility ecosystem is made up several businesses and public administrations, so we must establish a stable, uniform framework at all levels which is simplified and easy to understand so as not to mislead society.”
Committed to SEAT and the industry in Spain
Luca de Meo (52) has been the President of SEAT since November 2015 and he has more than 25 years’ experience in the car industry. He also chairs the Board of Directors of CUPRA and Volkswagen Group Spain Distribution, and is the Head of the Volkswagen Group in Spain.
Under his leadership, SEAT has achieved historic record financial and commercial results, prompted the company’s biggest product offensive with the launch of the Ateca, Arona and Tarraco, and created a new brand as well, CUPRA. Furthermore, he has also spearheaded the company’s digital transformation with the creation of Metropolis:Lab Barcelona and SEAT:CODE, SEAT’s new software development centre.