STORY: New vehicle terminal at Spain's Barcelona port to facilitate Chinese car imports
SHOOTING TIME: July 4, 2024
DATELINE: July 5, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:18
LOCATION: BARCELONA, Spain
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Autoterminal and Setram vehicle terminals at the Port of Barcelona and new Chinese electric cars parked
2. various of Chinese electric car dealerships in Spain
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Spanish): EMILIO GOMEZ, Logistics manager of Omoda Spain   
4. various of vehicle terminals and unloading of Chinese electric cars 
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Spanish): EMILIO GOMEZ, Logistics manager of Omoda Spain   
6. various of new cars parked in terminals, including Chinese electric cars

STORYLINE:

A new vehicle terminal built at Spain's north-eastern Port of Barcelona will facilitate the import of Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) into the European market, a logistics manager from car manufacturer Omoda told Xinhua.
   
Following a surge in demand for China-made EVs on the European market, permission was granted for the construction of a third terminal at the major Spanish port, a move which has been praised by players in the Chinese and Spanish automotive and logistics sectors.
   
Last week, the board of directors of the Barcelona Port Authority gave the green light to issue a call for tenders until 2027 for the contract to build the new terminal on the port's Prince of Spain pier.
   
Emilio Gomez, logistics manager of Omoda Spain, part of China's Chery auto group, welcomed the news, noting that Barcelona is the ideal place to import cars made in China.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Spanish): EMILIO GOMEZ, Logistics manager of Omoda Spain   
"Here in the Port of Barcelona, we have a rail link with Central Europe, we have port connections with the rest of Europe: Italy, Greece, Türkiye, France, etc. And here in Barcelona, we are close to the French border, with access to the central European markets, including Poland, Austria, Hungary, etc."
   
Last year, the Port of Barcelona imported a record number of 246,615 cars, 54 percent more than in 2022, of which a third were electric and mostly from China.

Popular Chinese brands include Omoda and MG. And the port will also serve to import cars made in China for Western automakers like Volvo and BMW.

The manager told Xinhua that his company has imported over 2,500 Omoda 5 models since January. And they are now increasing their operation in Barcelona to begin imports of the Jaecoo 7 model.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Spanish): EMILIO GOMEZ, Logistics manager of Omoda Spain 
"We have told our partners here in the port what our critical points are. They know them, they respect them and they help us achieve our objectives day by day. So for us in logistics, it's a delight to be able to work here in the Port of Barcelona."
   
The Barcelona port authorities say that the new 104,938 square-meter vehicle terminal will be finished in 2027 and will have direct access to the port's railway terminal.
   
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Barcelona, Spain.
(XHTV)