Secteur espagnol des composants automobiles 2022 : reprise et stratégie

2021 is over. A year that industry players faced with a hopeful start to bring a notable recovery for the industry after the 2020’s health emergency impact on global economy in general and a on the automotive industry in particular, among many other industries.

However, the Spanish automotive industry as a whole and specifically the automotive component sector close 2021 “going through a complex situation derived from several causes” states in an interview José Portilla, Director of Sernauto - which in collaboration with ICEX España Exportaciones e Inversiones- leads the plataform Autoparts from Spain.

Among those causes, “the most relevant to date is the lack of semiconductors and electronic components, the increase of several raw materials such as iron or plastic derivates as well as the high logistic and energetic costs” Portilla sums up. He considers the semiconductor chip scarce a significant reason affecting the whole vehicle value chain. It is then that the supply chain interruptions delay global vehicle production affecting the whole sector directly and indirectly.

Portilla considers this situation will last over 2023 which places the automotive component sector in Spain at a complex situation, due to the high demand of such components linked to the inability to satisfy it as in-house building of semiconductor-producing equipment require long periods of time.

In this sense and assessing the forthcoming context in which the Spanish automotive component sector will be in, Sernauto’s director highlights that European funds play a vital role to support the technological transformation for this country’s strategic industry which +1000 companies belong to. He considers that in order to get desirable results by using these funds is essential they reach a vast number of organizations along the whole value chain, with the aim to strengthen this ecosystem and assure Spanish automotive sector’s competitiveness level and global position.

Regarding the PERTE for Electric and Connected Vehicles, José Portilla highlights that several companies and project groups will be enabled to apply to several initiatives in order to obtain financing and eventually assure the performance of transforming projects for all the Spanish vehicle value chain.

Regardless, facing a foreseeable adversity context for the automotive component sector in 2022. it is important to let everybody know that Spanish automotive suppliers will go on working and investing in technology and I+D to keep being a competitiveness referent in the industry’s value chain.