Anabel Andión Lomero becomes the new leader of Autoeuropa in Palmela

From today, 1 March, the Autoeuropa factory in Palmela has a new leader. Anabel Andión Lomero takes up the role, replacing Thomas Hegel Gunther, who had led the plant since 2021.

With this appointment, Andión Lomero becomes the first woman to lead the factory. Until now, she had been in charge of the SEAT and CUPRA Pre-Series Centre in Spain.

Who is Anabel Andión Lomero?

Anabel Andión Lomero has more than two decades of experience within the Volkswagen Group. She began her career at SEAT in 2001 and, in 2018, was appointed Director of Digital Production at Audi’s headquarters in Ingolstadt.

In 2020, she returned to Spain to run the SEAT & CUPRA Pre-Series Centre, which is responsible for validating every new model before series production begins. CUPRA’s latest electric launches were prepared at this facility.

Andión Lomero takes charge of Autoeuropa at a strategic time. The first Volkswagen T-Roc units are already coming off the production line, while the factory is preparing to receive the production version of the ID. Every1. It will be the first fully electric vehicle built at Autoeuropa, from 2027 - a challenge that matches the executive’s experience in electric vehicles and industrial digitalisation.

Strategic reorganisation

This leadership change comes at a pivotal stage in the Volkswagen Group’s restructuring. The automotive giant has chosen to reorganise its manufacturing operations worldwide, establishing what it calls “production regions”, under which several plants in the same area are managed centrally. Through this model, the group expects to improve efficiency and cut costs.

The Iberian Peninsula - Spain and Portugal - is the first region to operate under this structure. André Kleb took up the newly created position of Production Director for the Iberian Peninsula at the start of this year; he was previously Volkswagen’s Director of Production Planning and Technology.

About Autoeuropa

Since it was founded in 1991, Autoeuropa has manufactured more than four million vehicles. The factory accounts for around 1.7% of Portuguese GDP and 5% of the country’s goods exports. In 2025, it built 240,000 units, an increase of 1.9% on 2024, and was responsible for 70% of national vehicle production. By comparison, Stellantis Mangualde, which currently manufactures commercial vehicles and derivatives, produced 91,662 units in the same year.