This morning in Bilbao, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and CIE Automotive SA signed the contract for a EUR 60 million loan, with which the EIB will support CIE’s research and development investment programme for automotive parts, the company’s core area of activity.
CIE Automotive, a leading manufacturer of automotive parts, is implementing a research and development investment programme for shaping metallic materials and light alloys and plastic injection aimed at reducing the weight and emissions of its products and improving vehicle safety. The project has two basic objectives: (i) to obtain lighter and safer components and joints, and (ii) to ensure that all parts are fully recyclable. These developments are carried out at the company’s centres in Spain.
The project financed by the EIB also comprises the expansion of CIE Automotive’s manufacturing plants in the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Romania, including any transfers required to modernise the technology at these plants.
The Bank’s loan forms part of the stimulus package for the automobile industry launched by the EIB in response to the current economic situation, which has affected this industry in particular. The project comes under the EU’s policy on promoting innovation in the automobile industry aimed at moving towards cleaner and safer transport.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union’s financing institution promoting EU objectives. Created in 1958, it operates in the 27 EU Member States and more than 130 other countries around the globe. The Bank’s financing is geared to well-defined European policies. Since December 2008, when the Bank launched its stimulus programme for the automobile industry, the EIB has approved loans for companies in the industry totalling EUR 8.255 million. The main objective of these loans has been to support development with a focus on manufacturing cleaner automobiles.