The president and CEO of Renault Group Iberia, Josep María Recasens, takes over the presidency of the Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers (ANFAC) for the next two years, replacing Wayne Griffiths, CEO of SEAT and CUPRA A decision that has been ratified in the extraordinary session held today by all the members of the association's Board of Directors and General Assembly. Josep María Recasens takes office as president of ANFAC at a crucial time for the transformation of the sector towards sustainable and decarbonized mobility, based on the electrification and digitalization of the automotive industry. Spain is an industrial benchmark, being the second largest manufacturer in Europe and the eighth largest in the world, and faces a complex transformation scenario where ensuring the competitiveness of our industry is key for the country's economy. The automotive sector faces great challenges linked to the necessary boost of the electrified vehicle market, development of recharging infrastructure and industrial transformation, and also to the digital revolution, in order to consolidate our activity and employment and attract new projects and investments. Josep María Recasens, already as the new president of ANFAC, highlighted the importance of the automotive sector in Spain as a fundamental part of its economy and even bet that the sector should take advantage of the arrival of the electric vehicle to make a new reindustrialization of the automobile in Spain: "We have to make the electric vehicle become a means of generating value and technology for this country. And, moreover, we have to do it quickly because otherwise we will miss the train and other countries will occupy this space". Recasens pointed out that Spain has all the ingredients to be a European technological power, not only because of the important evolution that the Spanish technological ecosystem has undergone in the last 10 years, but also because the historical competitive disadvantage with the Eastern countries is disappearing, both in terms of labor costs and energy costs. To this must be added the fact that Spain has one of the most important industrial fabrics of suppliers in Europe. El nuevo presidente de ANFAC apuntó que España se juega el futuro tecnológico e industrial del sector en los próximos cinco años, de ahí que haya aprovechado su primera intervención para hacer una llamada a la movilización conjunta administración/sector para conseguir que el automóvil sea el impulsor de la innovación y la tecnología en España, garantizando de esta forma la modernización industrial. “Tenemos que dejar de ser un mero fabricante para convertirnos en una potencia tecnológica”, señaló en su discurso, donde también habló de la importancia de incentivar la demanda de vehículos eléctricos pasando a otro nivel prioridades que tiene el sector ahora mismo encima de la mesa, como son hacer más atractivas las ayudas a la compra de los vehículos eléctricos y potenciar la instalación de los puntos de recarga. La trayectoria de Josep María Recasens ha estado siempre vinculada al sector de la automoción. El nuevo presidente de ANFAC es ingeniero por la Universidad de Girona, Máster en Ingeniería de Automoción por la Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña (UPC) y MBA por ESADE Business School. Comenzó su carrera en 2002 al incorporarse al fabricante de automóviles SEAT S.A, donde ocupó cargos como director de Estrategia, secretario Corporativo y director de Asuntos Públicos. Recasens se incorporó a Renault Group en julio de 2021 como director de Estrategia y Desarrollo de Negocio, reportando a Luca de Meo, CEO de Renault Group, desde donde ha contribuido al despliegue del Plan Estratégico de la compañía Renaulution. En enero de 2023 fue nombrado presidente y director general de Renault Group Iberia y ese mismo año asumió también las funciones de director de Operaciones de Ampere. Wayne Griffiths, presidente saliente de ANFAC, ha explicado que “conozco a Josep Maria desde hace muchos años y es un directivo excelente para liderar la nueva etapa de ANFAC. La industria del automóvil está viviendo un momento decisivo y es imprescindible seguir trabajando juntos en la asociación y con el conjunto del sector. Josep Maria cuenta con todo mi apoyo para impulsar el mercado español y transformar la industria hacia la electrificación, como hemos hecho en los últimos dos años y medio. Desde mi posición en SEAT S.A. y en el Grupo Volkswagen seguiré defendiendo los intereses de la industria española del automóvil en España y fuera de España”. Wayne Griffiths assumed the association's presidency in January 2022 and has held the position for two and a half years, at a time of profound transformation in the industry. Despite a two-year term as president, Griffiths agreed to extend his term at the end of 2023 for one year. Thanks to his leadership, the automotive industry has unified its voice in its dialogue with the Government, strengthening ties with SERNAUTO, and its president, Francisco J. Riberas, with FACONAUTO, and president, Marta Blázquez, as well as with the rest of the associations related to new mobility grouped in Neutral in Motion. During his mandate, the implementation and resolution of the different PERTE VEC calls has been achieved. Likewise, decarbonization has been a prominent issue with the presentation of very specific proposals with defined deadlines, such as, among others, the Roadmaps for light, industrial and heavy vehicles, and the proposals to accelerate the public recharging network. Likewise, the improvement of efficiency in demand and industrial policy plans, as well as taxation, are demands that ANFAC has prioritized in its mandate, with results such as the implementation of the 15% deduction in the additional Personal Income Tax for MOVES of up to 3,000 euros for the purchase of electrified vehicles or the accelerated and unlimited depreciation in the Corporate Income Tax on the purchase of electrified vehicles, among others https://anfac.com/actualidad/el-presidente-de-renault-group-iberia-josep-maria-recasens-nuevo-presidente-de-anfac/