The Popular Party has demanded this Sunday from the Government a change of course in its industrial policy and support for the automobile in light of the uncertainty about the future of SEAT and the decline of some indicators in the sector.
The Deputy Secretary of Economy and Sustainable Development of the PP, Alberto Nadal, has positioned the future of the brand and the Martorell plant as an example of a broader problem and has defended that Spain must compete for the upcoming investments in new platforms, models, batteries, and research centers.
According to the data from ANFAC cited by the PP, vehicle production fell 1.7% during the first half of 2026, while exports decreased by 3.3%. The trade balance of the entire automotive sector, vehicles and components, also reduced by 84.1%, down to 501 million euros.
Nadal has argued that these data must be analyzed alongside other factors, such as the adaptation of plants to new electrified models and lower European demand, but he believes that they also highlight the need to strengthen the competitiveness of the Spanish industry.
Criticism of the aids and the PERTE VEC
The PP focuses part of its criticism on the design and execution of public policies supporting the sector. Specifically, it questions the initial functioning of the PERTE of the Electric and Connected Vehicle (VEC) and the deadlines for the aids aimed at stimulating vehicle purchases.
The party recalls that the first call of the PERTE VEC, initially endowed with 2.975 billion euros, ended up awarding 877.2 million. The Court of Auditors later pointed out problems related to the complexity of the call, coordination, and participation of the private sector.
The PP acknowledges that the subsequent calls were modified and that the accumulated awards increased later, but it believes that the initial difficulties delayed the arrival of investments.
It also criticizes the deadlines of the Auto+ program, announced by the Government in December 2025 with 400 million euros for 2026, but whose first call for individuals was not opened until August.
Nadal also questions that the aids are mainly oriented towards vehicles with a ZERO label and demands greater "technological neutrality," so that the incentives take into account emission reductions and efficiency without favoring a single technology.
The PP calls for more flexibility in decarbonization
Another of the party's claims is directed at the Spanish position in the European Union regarding the objectives for reducing vehicle emissions.
The PP believes that the transition to less polluting mobility must be maintained, but with a timeline that takes into account the industry's capacity to adapt and technological evolution.
In this regard, Nadal demands "a reasonable decarbonization" and greater flexibility to avoid that the process of reducing emissions translates, in his opinion, into a loss of industrial production.
The party also points out as priorities the expansion of electrical networks and charging points, administrative simplification, a tax system favorable to investment, and greater regulatory stability.
SEAT as a symbol of broader industrial competition
For the PP, the situation of SEAT must be analyzed within the growing competition among European countries to attract investments related to the transformation of the automobile.
Nadal has also cited other business movements, such as the transfer of part of Bosch's production to Poland or the job adjustment announced by Ford in Almussafes, to argue that industrial investments are not guaranteed and that Spain must compete for each new project.
"Our support for SEAT is unequivocal, but the goal is broader: to defend the entire Spanish automobile industry," Nadal has pointed out. The popular leader has thus demanded that the Executive place industrial competitiveness at the center of its economic policy and has defended that the goal must be for the next models, investments, and innovation projects to continue developing in Spain.