New step to reindustrialize the historic motorcycle sector in Catalonia. The Austrian group Pierer Mobility has announced an investment of 5.7 million euros to build a new motorcycle plant in Terrassa (Vallès Occidental) for the Gas Gas brand, which will create 40 jobs.
The new facilities will have a manufacturing capacity of up to 5,000 units per year and production is expected to start in the second quarter of 2022. In addition to housing the production line for the emblematic Catalan trial motorcycle brand, the new Terrassa plant will also host an R&D center for trial motorcycles and the purchasing and customer service areas.
According to the general director of Gas Gas, César Rojo, it will be the first factory that the Pierer Mobility group will open outside of Austria and will allow the Gas Gas brand to continue being manufactured in Catalonia. "We are staying in Catalonia for many years," assured Rojo, who anticipates that the Terrassa plant will be state-of-the-art and a benchmark in efficiency, and will produce all Gas Gas models.
Pierer Mobility is the group that owns the KTM and Husqvarna motorcycle brands. The Austrian company bought Gas Gas in September 2019 from the electric motorcycle manufacturer Torrot, which had acquired the production unit of Gas Gas after the Catalan company filed for bankruptcy in 2015.
The Generalitat, through the Directorate General of Industry, plans to allocate up to a maximum of 500,000 euros in direct aid for investment, staff hiring, and operating expenses for the first year of operation of the new factory, in line with the support plan for reindustrialization projects approved by the Department of Business and Labor. According to Minister Roger Torrent, this investment, in addition to contributing to reindustrialization, allows for the consolidation of "a strategic sector" such as the motorcycle industry in Catalonia and "accompanying it in the transition towards green mobility."