the market of cars and SUVs closed 2022 with a total of 813,396 units sold, with a drop of 5.4%. This figure is below the forecasts for the sector, which were around 830,000 units. The difficulties in transporting vehicles to dealerships have caused thousands of cars to remain stopped in ports and fields, delaying their delivery to buyers.
In any case, 2022 has been a difficult year for car sales marked by factors such as the war in Ukraine, the increase in energy and fuel costs or the increase in inflation and interest rates that have conditioned the purchase decision of users, according to the assessment of the Anfac Manufacturers Association.
All hopes are pinned on recovery throughout 2023, although the hopes of the government and manufacturers’ forecasts of vehicles in Europe it seems that at the beginning of the year they are taking divergent paths.
Thus, the third vice president and minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Riberaexpects that in the coming months there will be a “notable boom in the penetration of electric vehicles in Spain”, although it has considered that this type of car also needs to become cheaper.
Ribera pointed out during a meeting organized by the Dialogues for Democracy Club that in the last two years there was a “stop” as far as the penetration of electric vehicles is concerned. That “stop” occurred, according to Ribera, “when all the automobile employers had already convinced themselves that (the electric vehicle) was the great strategic commitment to modernization and transformation, as well as to generate attractiveness for investments by the parent companies of automobile companies in Spain.
The third vice president and minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera
Among the main barriers to a greater penetration of electric vehicles in the country are, according to the minister, the prices, the autonomy of the batteries and the charging infrastructure. Regarding the prices, she has joked referring to When could the “600 electric” arrive in Spain?that is, “an affordable model that could popularize electrical technology.”
These good expectations on the part of the Spanish government collide head-on with the figures, since with 78,329 electrified cars sold in 2022, the national market does not reach the objective of 120,000 units, necessary to achieve the emission reduction objectives set by the PNIEC for 2030.
The electrified market improves in Spain compared to the previous year, but its rate of entry is slow and only represents 8.8% of the total market, very far from the European average. Germany is the arena with the highest volume in Europe. In 2022, the country ended with a growth of 1.1% in its sales figures, with 2.65 million registrations. Of these, 362,093 were plug-in hybrids and 470,559 were pure electric, with market shares of 13.7% and 17.7%, respectively.
But also in Germany and in the countries where electrification is the majority, the first setbacks for the electric car appear, as a consequence of the energy crisis derived from the war in Uncrania. For example, the German electricity operators have warned of an extra overload, since the charging of electric cars at public charging points is added to those of individuals in their domestic chargers, and heating both in homes and in commercial establishments. As a possible solution, limiting the charging power in private chargers is being studied, which would greatly reduce the attractiveness of electric cars, which would have to resort to more expensive public charging points.
Too the Swiss Federal Council announced on November 23, 2022 a set of measures to save energy in the event of a possible lack of supply caused by the war in Ukraine. Although for the moment it is a draft, the limitation of the use of electric cars is contemplated. In the worst possible scenario, the Swiss government is considering not authorizing the private use of electric vehicles except for absolutely necessary journeys (for example, to go to work, go shopping or go to the doctor, religious events or legal appointments).
In France, it is also being considered limiting the charging of this type of vehicle to certain hours on weekdays, between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. and between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., according to the operator of the French electricity gridRTE, in case the energy crisis worsens.
One more setback has put the vehicle manufacturers grouped in ACEA on alert, since although practically all the brands are focusing their efforts on expanding its ranges of electric and electrified vehiclesthe plans drawn up by the European Union for decarbonization may, from their point of view, have an effect contrary to the desired one.
According to the director general of the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Sigrid de Vries“European regulations on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions risk slowing down the path towards decarbonisation of the automotive sector”.
De Vries thus referred to the agreement reached between the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament that prohibits the commercialization of internal combustion vehicles in the European Union (EU) from 2035 and the Euro 7 regulation that restricts the standards of polluting emissions for cars and vans.
In this sense, De Vries warns that the tripartite agreement “requires massive investments in electrification”, while the Euro 7 proposal it represents “a heavy expenditure on the combustion engine”.
On the ban on the marketing of internal combustion vehicles in the EU from 2035, De Vries has considered that it is an “unprecedented decision” which implies that the EU will be the “first and only” region of the world in which cars will be fully electric. Regarding the Euro 7 proposal, from ACEA they have considered that it is a “counterproductive” measure, because “it runs the risk of slowing down” the transition towards emission-free transport.