Opened in 1993, the Martorell factory is the third factory in terms of volume of the VW Group in Europe. Located some 30 kilometres from Barcelona, it covers a total surface area of over 2,800,000m², the equivalent of 400 football fields. Around 12,000 people from 70 nationalities currently work in its 15 buildings.
In the last 30 years, more than 12 million cars consisting of 45 different models have been manufactured in Martorell.
Currently the factory is undergoing a deep transformation process, from 2025 onwards Martorell will be a production centre for electric vehicles and become a European hub for electromobility.
The Technical Center focuses on R&D and is the only center of its kind in Spain with the experience and technology required to fully develop new vehicles. The site covers a surface area of 200,000m², of which 43,000m² are equipped for R&D. Around 1,200 people work in the center using the most advanced technology to create the modern and reliable cars of tomorrow.
With 5,600m², the Design Center (SDC) –located within the Technical Center– is one of the most modern and functional design centers in the world and is certainly unique in its class in Spain. Created by and for designers, this facility brings the entire design process together under one roof. Enabling the company to fully harness synergies in the fields of R&D to give design, one of the defining features of the Spanish car manufacturer’s models, greater impetus. The CUPRA design philosophy was born in the DC: unconventional cars with a strong character in its shapes and proportions.
The Test Center Energy (TCE), with a surface of 1,500 m², is a pioneering battery research and development center for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. This facility is used to conduct performance tests on the powertrain systems of CUPRA and SEAT electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as other Volkswagen Group brands. With its 1.3 megawatts test capacity, 5 test benches and 5 climatic chambers, more than 17,500 hours of testing are done to develop and test the performance of the power system, representing a major step forward in the company's commitment to boosting electrification in Spain, and to transforming the country into a leading European hub for electric mobility.
The Prototype Development Center (PDC) covers an area of close to 19,000m² and is the link between the company’s R&D and its production departments: a place where the virtual becomes reality. Over its 15 years of existence, a total of 13 concept cars have been developed there, including the CUPRA Raval, among others. To date, the PDC has worked with more than 5,000 pre-series, 2,500 test prototypes and 230 technical models.
The Components site, located close to Barcelona airport, covers an area of 155,000m², of which more than 85,000m² are workshops. The factory has a production capacity of 3,200 gearboxes a day, including a complete process from casting to assembly and quality control, providing work for almost 700 employees. From 2025 on the facility will start to manufacture five new components for the Small BEV family. This represents a major boost in the reconversion of this centre towards the production of electric vehicle components. This transformation is a sign of SEAT S.A.'s commitment to seek solutions and maintain jobs during the transition to electromobility.
In 1953 SEAT S.A. opened its first factory located in the Zona Franca in Barcelona, where the first model, the Seat 1400 A, rolled off the production line. This factory is where the history of SEAT S.A. began, and the facility in Zona Franca remains an active business hub to this day. Within the facilities of Barcelona, different automotive parts are built and then used at the assembly lines. These facilities stand out for the application of innovative technological developments such as virtual simulation of the PXL press, 3D printing in the maintenance workshop, automatic replacement of robot welding caps in the body shop and automation of logistics flows through autonomously guided vehicles.
Located next to the Martorell factory, the SEAT S.A. Spare Parts Center is a modern 75,000m² site which distributes parts to SEAT, CUPRA, Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and Porsche dealers in Spain, and to SEAT and CUPRA importers throughout the world. Close to 7 million orders, ranging from rear-view mirrors to full bodywork, are dispatched every year by the employees of the center, which has 130,000 product lines in stock.
