Interview with Seat Production Chief Markus Haupt: This is how Spain is to become an e-mobility hub

Markus Haupt studied business administration in Barcelona and has over 20 years of international experience within the Volkswagen Group, where he began his career in 2001. During his initial years at Seat and Audi, Haupt specialized in prototypes until he returned to the Spanish company in 2004 as head of process and project management for pre-series. Haupt led production projects such as the A0 class of the Volkswagen Group in Wolfsburg and the series introduction of the T-Roc at the Portuguese plant in Palmela.

Your company is investing 10 billion euros to make Spain a European hub for electromobility in partnership with more than 50 companies. However, the Spanish government is not supporting the mission as it is not implementing the long-promised measures to promote electromobility (incentives for PHEVs and EVs, infrastructure, etc.). Does this concern you?

Markus Haupt: Every public-private collaboration is very important in a project of this magnitude, and we must emphasize that we were encouraged by the government to continue. Of course, this does not mean that we do not regret the fact that there is still a lack of subsidies to promote the purchase of electric vehicles and the installation of charging infrastructure, without which electric cars cannot gain a foothold in Spain. Our concern is evident and was appropriately highlighted by our CEO, who decided to close the door and leave the board of ANFAC (Spanish Association of Automobile Manufacturers) because of the Spanish government's lack of commitment and the slow implementation of plans for e-mobility.

An annual production of 40 GWh from the Sagunto plant should result in 600,000 to 650,000 electric cars per year, considering that the range of this vehicle has been specified at around 450 kilometers. Does this somewhat creative calculation make sense?

Markus Haupt: These are figures with a certain logic, not least because we will produce this compact electric car with three brands in two factories, and the capacity of these two factories will be around 600,000 cars per year. Given market developments and potential new models in the future, we could increase this number to 60 GWh/year.

Is the assembly of batteries in Martorell intended only for the Spanish market? Which VW Group brands are being supplied?

Markus Haupt: They will be used in the Cupra Raval and VW ID.2 models, with 300,000 being manufactured annually in Martorell. In the case of the Pamplona models (Skoda Epiq and VW ID2 Crossover), this will be handled by PowerCo, a company from our supplier group, which has its own autonomy and management.

Which of the projects - battery factory or compact model production - is more dependent on the Spanish domestic market? What will happen if the market share of electric cars remains below ten percent by the end of this decade? Your CEO says that Plan B is the same as Plan A.

Markus Haupt: That's right, there is no plan that differs from Plan A. We are fortunate to be a global company and can sell to many markets in Europe, so our dependency on the Spanish market is much lower than it could be. The main volume will be destined for export, putting us in a less precarious position.

What type of chemistry is used in the lithium-ion cells? LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) or NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt)?

Markus Haupt: We will offer both types of cell chemistry in the different models. LFP in the entry-level models and NMC in the higher-performance models. All cells will be manufactured with the technology developed within our group.

Which of the two plants will complete its transition to electric cars first - Pamplona or Martorell? What is the installed production capacity today, and what will it be in the future?

Markus Haupt: We have an installed capacity of about 600,000 vehicles per year in Martorell. When we start producing electric cars next year, we will have a fairly even distribution, half with internal combustion engines and the other half with electric drives. The total volume will not change.

Which assembly process takes longer: internal combustion engine cars (MQB platform) or electric cars (MEB)?

Markus Haupt: The assembly time for an electric car and a gasoline/diesel car is roughly the same. The biggest difference lies in the value chain of the suppliers, but within the plant, there is a great proximity.

Can we assume that the Skoda Epiq and the VW ID2 Crossover will have more technical similarities than the ID2 and the ID2 Crossover, since the former is built in Pamplona, while the ID2 is manufactured together with the Cupra Raval in Martorell?

Markus Haupt: We follow the same strategy that we pursue within our group when the same plant produces vehicles for different brands in our group. In other words, the platform is the same for both plants, but the bodies of the Skoda Epiq and the VW ID.2 Crossover in Pamplona are more similar, just as the ID2 and the Cupra Raval bodies are closer. This is the best way to maximize the synergies between the different vehicles, which means that each model pair manufactured in the same plant will converge more, even if they belong to different brands. This way, an optimized production process can be achieved.