QEV will produce 100,000 electric vehicles at the Nissan factory and employ one thousand people

The business consortium led by QEV Technologies and BTech to bid for the reindustrialization of the factories left inoperative by the departure of the Japanese multinational Nissan, in the Zona Franca of Barcelona, has defined its industrial strategy for the coming years, if they are awarded the project.

The CEO of QEV Technologies, Joan Orús, has specified that within three years they would be producing 100,000 electric vehicles annually and would have a workforce of 1,000 people, most of them former Nissan workers ---now there are about 1,400 people who are unemployed---. For the also founder of QEV, "the dream" of reindustrializing the old Nissan "is not about the factory, the robots or the assembly lines; it's because there are more than 1,000 people who know how to make vehicles". "Our project wants to be the second step of the automotive culture that exists in our country, with an industry that we cannot lose and to which we want to give continuity," he said.

Orús gave details this Wednesday of the company's strategy and its plans for the Nissan plant, starting in 2023, during an event at Nissan Zona Franca, where he presented the Zeroid brand of electric commercial vehicles ---a range of five models of electric vans for last-mile delivery companies and an urban bus---, around which its project for the Zona Franca factories will revolve. Meanwhile, BTech, according to Orús, will be in charge of relaunching the Ebro brand, initially with the manufacture of an electric pick up model. Specifically, Zeroid expects to reach 60,000 vehicles annually in three years, while Martorell engineering firm Btech would add the remaining 40,000 vehicles.

The promoters of the project, called the decarbonization hub or electromobility hub D-Hub, have demanded "speed" from the governments to close as soon as possible the pending loose ends of the Nissan reindustrialization table and start manufacturing in 2023. "All we want is agility, we will negotiate with whoever it takes but let it be fast," said Orús. He pointed out that his intention would be to be able to hire between 100 and 200 Nissan workers this coming June to start preparing the assembly lines.

The launch and production of the Zeroid brand will entail an investment of 200 million euros over three years, which QEV Technologies expects to obtain through several capital increases that would allow new partners to join and would add to the 100 to 150 million that the hub has requested from administrations ---through, among other instruments, European resources from the PERTE VEC-- in aid, financing, and long-term loans. The global cost of the QEV and Btech hub project reaches 800 million euros.

QEV's business plans involve the commercialization of five models of electric industrial vehicles for a price ranging between 20,000 euros and 120,000 euros for larger units with greater battery autonomy. The range goes from an autonomy of 40 kilometers/hour to 140 kilometers/hour, and from a load of 700 kilos to a maximum of 4,500 kilos.

Platforms for buses and competition sports cars

Likewise, QEV Technologies plans to boost the platform it has designed for urban electric buses with business agreements with body manufacturing companies ---"with important existing brands in our country," Orús insisted--- to internationalize its commercialization. In fact, the CEO stressed that the decarbonization hub will have as many local and national suppliers as possible. "For now, electric batteries will have to be imported from China and Korea, but awaiting the development of national factories," he stated and announced that they are in talks for a project in Valencia, with Power Electronics.

CEO Joan Orús ---who launched the company in 2013--- confirmed that QEV will maintain its corporate headquarters in Montmeló, very close to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where it will centralize the technical and development offices for both the Zeroid brand and the motorsport line, the electric sports models manufactured by QEV Technologies destined for competition. In fact, it was one of the driving firms behind rallycross championships like Formula E and competes in Extreme-E. Although it has also developed electric vehicle models for third parties, such as Cupra or Hispano Suiza --with the limited series of the Carmen Boulogne model--.