The State Special Delegate at the CZFB, Pere Navarro, visits the Ebro Factory production plant

• The State Special Delegate at the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB), Pere Navarro, and the Director General, Blanca Sorigué, visited the EBRO FACTORY in Barcelona this morning, accompanied by Rafael Ruiz, President of EBRO EV MOTORS; Pedro Calef, CEO of EBRO MOTORS; and Johnson Xu, Vice President of EBRO FACTORY.

Barcelona, 3 July 2025. – The State Special Delegate at the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB), Pere Navarro, and the Director General, Blanca Sorigué, visited the EBRO FACTORY in Barcelona this morning, accompanied by Rafael Ruiz, President of EBRO EV MOTORS; Pedro Calef, CEO of EBRO MOTORS; and Johnson Xu, Vice President of EBRO FACTORY. The directors of EBRO EV MOTORS and Chery, the Spanish company’s industrial and technological partner, held a meeting with the top representatives of the CZFB, in which they had the opportunity to present the current status of the automotive project that has resulted in the reindustrialisation of the Barcelona plant, a unique example in Europe of restoring industrial activity.

The delegation toured the plant, visiting the vehicle assembly line where the factory currently produces two mid-size SUVs, available with PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid) and combustion engines, and the recently launched s400, the smallest and most urban model in the range, with a hybrid engine and ECO label. The aim is to place the models among the best sellers in their segment by 2025. The vehicles are marketed throughout Spain via a distribution network that already boasts more than 60 sales outlets.

EBRO FACTORY began operations last November with the production of the first two EBRO models, the s700 SUV and the s800 SUV, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the historic Spanish brand, which is now making a comeback. Sales of the first units started in December. Last May, the s400 was unveiled at the Barcelona Automobile Show; its production has already started at the plant, and the first units are now reaching dealerships.

Rafael Ruiz, President of EBRO EV MOTORS, expressed his satisfaction with the visit: “We are very pleased to welcome Pere Navarro to the EBRO FACTORY. The Consorci de la Zona Franca has been one of the key players in the reindustrialisation project of this plant. We have worked together to fulfil the commitments agreed at the reindustrialisation table, which have already borne fruit in terms of employment—our priority—and in restoring industrial activity for car manufacturing in Barcelona. EBRO EV MOTORS and our partner Chery want to open a new chapter in sustainable mobility in our country and become a benchmark for the entire sector.”

For his part, the State Special Delegate at the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona, Pere Navarro, acknowledged that “seeing the EBRO FACTORY production plant in operation is very exciting because the reindustrialisation process was extremely complex and under a great deal of pressure, as solutions had to be found for the workers affected by the plant’s closure, especially in the initial stages of negotiation.” Navarro added that “this is a success story that demonstrates that when everyone pulls in the same direction and is eager to achieve the same objective, anything is possible. We all aligned and managed to turn what was a major crisis into what today is a great opportunity.”

The start of production at the EBRO FACTORY marks the recovery of jobs at the plant, as committed to at the reindustrialisation table, and the gradual integration of the local supplier network, thereby strengthening the value chain and having a positive impact on the surrounding industrial fabric.