Two weeks have passed since the opening of the Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation of the Electric and Connected Vehicle (PERTE VEC), with several rumours about who will apply.
The big manufacturers are preparing their projects, which will be known after 3 March, but what about SMEs?
«The PERTE for La Rioja has a drawback, which is that all projects have a major condition that there must be a large manufacturer, in La Rioja we have none,» says Daniel Rueda Villadangos in conversation with Portal Movilidad España.
The Secretary General of the Innovative Business Association (AEI) of the automotive sector in La Rioja, says that in order to participate in this call, companies in La Rioja must «go and knock on the door of the large manufacturers».
Entities interested in submitting an application must be constituted as a group of companies without legal personality and sign an internal agreement prior to the formalisation of the application.
Applications known as ‘tractor projects’ must include primary projects involving several links in the sector’s value chain.
In La Rioja, there is no large manufacturer as such, so companies in the region depend on those in other regions that do.
«We have tried to coordinate and bring the SMEs in La Rioja closer to the consortiums; to date, there is no company in the region that forms part of one,» says Rueda.
The requirements for forming consortia specify that there must be at least five separate legal entities that do not belong to the same business group.
In addition, the cluster must be made up of at least 40% SMEs.
This is why the Secretary General of AEI says that «the problem of participating in a PERTE does not depend on the companies of La Rioja» which are only SMEs.
«If this large manufacturer concludes that the consortium has already done it, we cannot enter,» argues Rueda.
On this point, the Secretary General is categorical and expresses that «at the point where we are, there are virtually no possibilities, but it is very difficult for the tortilla to turn».
Therefore, if the trend does not change, no company from La Rioja will be able to be part of PERTE, and an entire Autonomous Community will not be part of the recovery plan.
Rueda suggests that if the consortium would not be linked to a large company, «one could be formed with 10 companies from La Rioja and it would be on track».
Other limitations of PERTE
«For companies producing components for all types of cars, electric or not, the PERTE is limited because it is only for electric vehicles and not for the rest», says the Secretary General.
In addition, the PERTE only admits four types of primary projects classified in one of the following lines:
- Research, Development and Innovation Line: industrial research projects, experimental development, and organisational and process innovation projects.
- Line of Innovation in Sustainability and Energy Efficiency: Innovative investments aimed at environmental protection, energy saving or energy efficiency.
- Line of regional aid for investment in assisted areas: Projects for the creation of new establishments, modification of production lines or initial investments in favour of a new economic activity in accordance with the parameters and restrictions established in Community regulations.
- Training aid line.
«As with any call for proposals, there are certain conditions, which you must adapt to or you are not in them», says Daniel Rueda.
He adds that the PERTE «has conditions that are not adapted to the conditions or needs of companies in La Rioja».
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