Spanje investeert €4 miljard om autosector te beschermen (en)
Spain has become the latest European nation to stump up billions in public cash to bail-out car firms bludgeoned by the economic crisis.
On Friday (13 February), Madrid approved a €4 billion package to boost the auto sector in the country, which, unlike France (which recently announced a €6 billion package for domestic firms Renault and PSA Peugeot-Citroen), is largely foreign owned.
The aid, similar to other plans, is contingent on companies not laying off workers without first reaching agreements with trade unions.
Equally similarly to other EU countries' car bail-out packages, much of the money - some €1.2 billion - will be used to encourage people to buy new cars over the next two years.
Additionally, around €800 million is to be offered to firms to upgrade their factories
Some €950 million is to be spent on improving rail, road and sea transport distribution for the sector.
A total of €420 million is slated for research projects and tax breaks for research spending and development of new, greener vehicles.
How much of the monies represent new spending remains unclear, with some of the measures having been already announced as part of the country's €70 billion stimulus package.
Industry minister Miguel Sebastian denied that the plan amounted to further moves towards protectionism in Europe.
"The auto sector employs 300,000 people, it drives six percent of GDP, and we are talking about a sector that provides around 20 percent of exports," the minister told reporters on Friday.
In recent weeks, tens of thousands of workers have been laid off at Renault, Seat, Ford and General Motors plants in the country.
In 2008, car sales dropped 28 percent, the Spanish auto industry's biggest ever fall, with further sharp declines expect this year.
Spanish car sector trade association ANFAC nevertheless felt that the plan did not go far enough.
The Iberian country has been amongst the hardest EU countries hit by the crisis, seeing a GDP contraction of one percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. Spain also has one of the highest unemployment rates in the bloc, on 13 percent.
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