Cupra Raval will be the VW Group’s first small electric car
The VW ID.2 will also be produced in Martorell “in the following months,” while an SUV based on the ID.2 (presumably called the ID.2 X) and the Skoda Epiq will be manufactured in Navarra. The latest official statement said production of the VW ID.2 would start “early 2026.” However, larger quantities are not expected until May 2026.
Volkswagen first announced battery assembly at the Seat plant in Martorell near Barcelona in July 2023. At the time, the carmaker said that, in addition to converting the plant itself, it would invest 300 million euros to build a separate battery assembly facility covering 64,000 square metres for the upcoming small electric cars and crossovers from the Spanish plants. The battery assembly in Martorell is directly adjacent to production hall 10, where the Raval and ID.2 will be built. The cells will come from the Volkswagen battery factory in Sagunt near Valencia, construction of which started in March 2023.
While there was no information on the production capacity of the battery assembly plant when it was announced in the summer of 2023, Seat now mentions that the plant will have an initial capacity of 1,400 battery systems per day, which will be transferred directly to the assembly lines of the new electric cars via a 600-metre-long conveyor system. That makes it possible to estimate how many Raval and ID.2 the Group intends to produce initially. However, Seat does not specify how quickly and to what capacity it will expand. The quantities expected later, including the ID.2 X and Skoda Epiq, are therefore still not known.
Seat announced the update as the Spanish King Felipe VI visited the construction site of the battery plant. The VIPs from the Group who travelled to the event were correspondingly high-ranking. “We are delivering what it needs to bring electric mobility to the masses: affordable, appealing cars and leading-edge batteries,” said Thomas Schäfer, who is VW brand boss and, as head of the Cora brand group, a member of the Group Board of Management. Schäfer also chairs Seat’s Supervisory Board. “We strive to enable e-mobility for everyone! In this regard, the continuous support of the Spanish Government is crucial. And we call on Europe to stick to electromobility as central lever to make the Green deal reality.”
“Three years ago we made a big promise: to electrify SEAT SA and put Spain on electric wheels. During this time, we have worked hard to make that goal a reality and the new battery assembly plant is the best proof we’re on the right track,” adds Wayne Griffiths, CEO of Seat and Cupra. “We are delivering on our investments, on the creation of new electric cars and on the redevelopment at the factories. Our commitment to electrification and decarbonisation is clear and now we need the same commitment from the Spanish Government.”
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