Spain is far from securing the electricity market. Currently there are around 180,000 electric vehicles. The 2030 agenda requires 5 million electric vehicles between cars, vans, buses and motorcycles; of which, about 3 million will be passenger cars. Achieving this park objective is only possible with a determined deployment of the electric vehicle market. This would mean that, in the next 8 years, some 600,000 zero-emission vehicles should be registered each year. Or what is the same, that the share will increase from the 4.84% with which it closed the year 2021, up to 40% in the year 2030.
Given the data and the progression of recent years, hard figures. Specifically, up to the second quarter, with a total of 38,124 registered electrified passenger cars, only 31.8% of the milestone estimated by the Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers (Anfac) of 120,000 units in 2022 has been achieved, which would allow achieve the objectives reflected in the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) for 2030. To reach this objective this year, close to 60,000 units should have been sold by June.
The Achilles heel for the development of the electric mobility market in Spain is the price and availability of use. Given that the price differential can only be addressed through efficient and sufficient purchase aid, the other main stumbling block to be addressed is, without a doubt, the availability of public access recharging infrastructures, both at urban and interurban levels.
And this hurdle is penalizing the development of electric mobility to the point that the Spanish market is among the least developed of the large European countries. Even the figures are far from the objective of 45,000 recharging points that would be necessary this year to meet the demanding European objectives and, as a consequence, with those set at the national level by the PNIEC for 2030. And, distributed throughout the geography Spain, there are only 15,772 public charging points installed today.
In reality, it is a growth above that produced in previous quarters, but still far from the desired and associated with slow loading. Only 17% of the public access recharging infrastructure in Spain corresponds to charging with power greater than 22 kW. Up to that figure implies minimum charging times of 3 hours and up to 19. In the case of public access charging points of at least 150 kW and less than 250 kW, there are only 131 at present. “The deployment of recharging points of at least 150 kW is essential so that the electric vehicle can be used on long-distance road trips, allowing charging times of between 15 and 27 minutes,” they warn from Anfac.
«Spain is at the bottom compared to the rest of the main European countries. To improve our position, it is necessary to define binding public objectives for the deployment scheduled per year and powers of the recharging points and to make a new charging station on public roads a reality in less than six months. Also favor the positive taxation of the electrified vehicle and simplifying and unifying the procedures of Moves III”, concludes José López-Tafall, general director of Anfac.
Given this, it should be noted that the charging points “are not interoperable, that is, most of them are only for the exclusive use of passenger cars”, as highlighted by the National Association of Companies in the Two-Wheel Sector (Anesdor). “A factor to take into account in terms of the deployment of the penetration of the electric fleet,” they add.
As far as recharging electric motorcycles is concerned, the deployment is still much smaller and slower. Without fixed data, for example, Repsol has more than 230 charging points for electric cars and motorcycles available in car parks, shopping centers, dealerships, workshops and service stations. In cities like Madrid, charging points are beginning to be installed in some motorcycle parking reserves and in underground car parks.
Scooters, the great challenge
The Spanish Federation of Personal Mobility Vehicles (FEVMP) estimates that around 3.5 million Personal Mobility Vehicles (VMP) are circulating in Spain, of which 75% would be electric scooters. The VMP also group the ‘segway’, ‘hoverboard’ and unicycle, but it has been the electric scooter that has proliferated the most in recent years. This means of transport is in the early stages of growth and, for now, the DGT has presented a new regulation -it will come into force from 2024- that must be followed in order not to be a danger to traffic: do not use headphones or the mobile phone running, do not circulate on sidewalks, do not exceed 25 km/h, or circulate under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Penalties can reach 1,000 euros.
Automobiles, the roadmap to follow
The route is clear, and so are the multiple advantages of acquiring a 100% electric car. They are cleaner, easier to drive, they give access to big cities and their car parks, less maintenance costs… But there are points to improve. At the moment, the vast majority of these vehicles reach a price above 40,000 euros, a barrier for a large part of consumers. According to 2018 data from the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), 64.9% of Spaniards live in a flat, which makes it difficult to install a recharging point at home, the most advantageous thing with this technology. Likewise, an electric is devalued by 50% of its value -25% of a thermal-.
Bicycles, the best-selling electric vehicle in Spain
The sale of electric bicycles is consolidated in 2021 by exceeding, for yet another year, the barrier of 200,000 units sold. Thus, the fleet in Spain is close to 900,000 units, becoming the electric vehicle preferred by the Spanish. In addition, 7 out of 10 electric bicycles are manufactured in the EU, “generating enormous opportunities for our industry”, detailed from the Association of Brands and Bicycles of Spain (AMBE). This change in the rules of the mobility game comes from the “trend to move in a healthier and more sustainable way, which generates a positive impact for society in economic, environmental and health terms,” they add.
Trucks, the slow takeoff of freight transport
According to the European Observatory for Alternative Fuels, at the end of 2021 there were only 40 pure battery electric trucks (BEV) -1,394 in the European Union to date-, for freight transport. But estimates suggest that there will be 14,000 trucks with zero emissions in 2030 in Spain. Many European manufacturers are making important announcements in this regard. Volvo, for example, has already started series production of 44-tonne heavy electric trucks for the whole of Europe. Others such as Renault already have -and continue to renew- a 100% electric range with models capable of transporting up to 3.5 tons.
Motorcycles, the queens of the urban
The two-wheel market already totals 66,321 units -29,027 mopeds and 37,294 motorcycles-, accounted for until July 2022, according to the DGT. The future of mobility “goes through the electric vehicle, which is growing well, especially in the case of motorcycles,” they explain from Anesdor. “The growth data reflects a market penetration superior to other vehicles, especially in the smaller and urban motorcycle segments, in which the benefits fully satisfy the consumer and the classic barriers disappear,” they add. And although the infrastructure is still weak, they allow easy charging at home, they are even removable batteries.