AVL Opens a New Office in the Basque Country, Spain

With the goal of providing the best possible local support for new mobility demands, AVL, one of the world’s leading mobility technology companies for development, simulation and testing in the automotive industry, establishes a new office in San Sebastián in addition to existing three subsidiaries in Spain.

San Sebastián, Spain, October, 2022. The opening strengthens AVL's local presence in the Basque Country, a region with a strong innovative industrial orientation and close relations to the automotive sector. The new headquarters, located at Paseo Miramón 170 in BIC GIPUZKOA and operational since July 2022, is based in the technological-economic ecosystem of the Gipuzkoa Science and Technology Park.

The Basque Country and the automotive industry have formed an important alliance with the vision of increasing energy efficiency, optimizing the use of mobility and transport services whilst decarbonizing fuels and energy sources. Moreover, connected and autonomous vehicles have been named as opportunities with technological-industrial and innovation significance in the "Industrial Development and Internationalization Plan 2021-2024". The region’s commitment to achieve this goal has been outlined in the "Strategy for the Digital Transformation of the Basque Country 2025," which includes applications of relevant technological levers such as 5G connectivity and cloud services. Digitalization, already seen in other areas of society, will become progressively important in the mobility sector with greater connectivity and autonomous functions.

In addition, the future of mobility in this region will be increasingly dependent on electrification. The technological shift facilitates the future collaboration between AVL and the Basque Science, Technology and Innovation Network. Together, both can offer efficient services throughout the development and validation process of the new mobility technologies in the Basque region.

Alberto Zumeta, Managing Director, AVL Iberica SA, underlines the strategic ambitions: “We are proud to fully integrate AVL in San Sebastián into the extraordinary and innovative mobility ecosystem of the Basque Country. Specifically, we see enormous potential in the fields of connected and automated mobility as well as software development. Our aspiration is to make AVL's know-how accessible to companies in the region while delivering cost advantages, high reactivity, local support and management of activities."

Founding AVL’s new location was made possible by partnering with two regional business enablers. From one side, Invest in the Basque Country at SPRI, which is the entity of the Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment Department of the Basque Government, as well as BIC GIPUZKOA, the Business and Innovation Center. The established framework drives innovation at its core business and supports companies like AVL to facilitate access to digitalization and cybersecurity through R&D efforts.

Jorge Fernandez, Head of Invest in the Basque Country from Grupo SPRI highlights the importance of the cooperation: "The Invest in the Basque Country area at SPRI, are delighted to have supported AVL set up its foundations in the Basque Country. The automotive sector continues with its commitment to contribute to our future economy. With this, we will continue to strengthen our position as one of the main European hubs in this sector. The engagement of AVL, as a world-class mobility technology provider, will undoubtedly enhance the development goals that are already taking place in the Basque Country. AVL’s expertise in the fields of e-mobility, connectivity and autonomous driving, combined with the capabilities of our Basque Science, Technology and Innovation Network, as well as the cooperation with existing companies in the automotive sector, constitute an ideal framework for the future growth of the sector in the coming years".