• The company has adapted Workshop 7 at its Zona Franca facilities to transform it into a plant for recovering vehicle parts and components, which is already operational
• The new SEAT & CUPRA Circular Economy Hub represents an investment of 4.85 million euros and has received 1.32 million euros in funding from the PERTE of Circular Economy programme
• The company takes a step forward in its sustainability strategy, aiming to reduce the use of raw materials and minimise its environmental impact

SEAT & CUPRA reinforces its pledge to sustainability with the launch of the new Circular Economy Hub, a circular economy plant in Barcelona’s Zona Franca. As part of its transformation process, the company has adapted its facilities to establish a vehicle dismantling centre and a parts and components recovery and recycling hub.

“Decarbonisation and the reduction of raw material use are two of the biggest challenges for the automotive industry. At SEAT & CUPRA, we want to lead the way, considering the entire value chain,” said Markus Haupt, CEO of SEAT and CUPRA. “Our new Circular Economy Hub will bring us closer to this goal by recovering various materials and vehicle components to give them a second life.”

SEAT & CUPRA has invested 4.85 million euros to transform the former Workshop 7 in Zona Franca into its new Circular Economy Hub, a project that has also received 1.32 million euros in funding through the PERTE of Circular Economy programme. The facility has started operations with the dismantling and recovery of parts from SEAT and CUPRA cars prior to mass production. These components and materials can be reused in new vehicles, recycled or refurbished for resale through external partners, offering customers more cost-effective solutions with a lower environmental impact. In the future, the company plans to expand operations to include new circular initiatives.

With the launch of the new Circular Economy Hub, SEAT & CUPRA aims to promote circular economy, a key pillar of its commitment to sustainability. Regarding its products, the company encourages the use of recycled and renewable materials, such as SEAQUAL® YARN, made from recovered ocean plastics, and Dinamica® microfibre, produced with 73% recycled polyester through a water-based process, among others.

In production, SEAT & CUPRA is working to progressively reduce waste through reuse, recycling, and recirculation. By 2025, the company aims to cut waste sent to management facilities during production processes by 60% compared to 2010, as a step toward achieving zero waste by 2050, in line with the Volkswagen Group’s “Reduce & Grow” Circular Economy Strategy, a key pillar of the Regenerate+ Sustainability Strategy. With respect to the end of life of its products, SEAT & CUPRA actively participates in research projects focused on component recovery and battery recycling.

Beyond minimising the use of raw materials, SEAT & CUPRA is committed to decarbonising the automotive industry. Since 2010, the company has reduced CO₂ emissions from its facilities by 75%. SEAT & CUPRA aims to achieve carbon neutrality at its facilities by 2040 and become a fully carbon-neutral company by 2050, in line with the Volkswagen Group’s decarbonisation targets and the Zero Impact Factory initiative.

This project also reflects the company’s commitment to boosting Barcelona’s business and industrial ecosystem. In 2024, SEAT & CUPRA and the City Council signed an agreement to jointly promote innovation and implement circular economy initiatives, which has materialized with the creation of the Circular Economy Hub. This facility will help consolidate Barcelona as a technology hub, while contributing to sustainable urban mobility.

The Circular Economy Hub of SEAT & CUPRA is a beneficiary of the 2024 grant programme for promoting the circular economy in businesses, issued by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan (PRTR), funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. The opinions and content expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the entities financially supporting the project.