The car sector employs 280,000 people in Spain, including parts suppliers, and accounts for a tenth of the country’s economic output. About 85 percent of the industry’s workers are on long-term contracts.

“When you look at the car manufacturers and suppliers in Spain, a lot of the fat has been cut out since the start of the crisis, and what is left now is a very strong skeleton and muscles,” said Marc Sachon, a professor of operations management at the IESE business school in Madrid. “Ford and Renault are now giving further proof that companies are changing their European manufacturing footprint and moving away from places where costs are higher.”

Opel, a subsidiary of General Motors, confirmed this month that it would close its plant in Bochum, Germany, in 2016, a decision that has sent shock waves through the country, which has Europe’s largest car market. PSA Peugeot Citroën is also in tense negotiations with unions after announcing in July the closing of its factory in Aulnay-sous-Bois, near Paris, in 2014.

In contrast, carmakers have added a dozen models to their Spanish production over the last two years. The latest, introduced by Ford this month, is a new version of the Kangoo, a small van, manufactured at its factory near Valencia. The Valencia factory is also set to benefit from a hefty reorganization plan announced in October by Ford that involves closing factories in Britain and Belgium. Ford is hoping to close the Belgian plant by the end of 2014, with the loss of about 4,300 jobs, and transfer much of the work to Valencia.

And last month, Renault presented an investment plan focused on its factories in Spain, France and Turkey that would create 1,300 new jobs in Spain.

Volkswagen, the largest carmaker in Europe, is also expanding in Spain. In October, the company announced an 800 million euro investment in its Martorell plant, near Barcelona, that builds Seat cars as well as the Audi Q3, a compact sport utility vehicle. Both Seat and Audi are units of Volkswagen.

This year, Nissan and Iveco also said they would step up their investments in Spain, Nissan by 300 million euros and Iveco by 500 million euros.