The electric car in Spain was not doing as well as expected. In 2024, the sale of this type of car will barely grew by 4.21% to reach 65,478 electric cars. But, despite this increase, the share of electric cars has fallen slightly to 5.36%, below the 5.56% in 2023. If we take a look at the ACEA datathe figure is in the lower part of the European market. It is comparable to Italy, where the electric car has not taken off either and remained at 4.2%. But it is very far from France, which is close to 17%, from Portugal, which is also close to 20% or from the Nordic countries, where Sweden is at 35%, Denmark at 51.5% and Norway has already almost reached the threshold. all cars sold in 2024. To understand the idiosyncrasies of each country, we must take into account the characteristics that revolve around the electric car. However, there is something that does not fail: where aid has been simple and stable over time, the electric car has finally taken off. Where they have retreated, the electric car has retreated. What is the plan for Spain? Aid for electric cars in Spain seems to be an eternal problem to be solved. The last stone in the road has arrived with the last extension of the MOVES III Plan. To understand what happened you have to look back. In the last days of 2024, the Government approves a new extension of the MOVES III Plan. For the next 20 days, the project works without surprises but a vote of one omnibus decree that contemplates these aids (and others of great significance such as the revaluation of pensions or transport aid) does not move forward. Without the approval of the Congress of Deputies, everything falls and, with it, the aid from the MOVES III Plan. Since then, the political climate seems to have forgotten about aid for car purchases. There is talk of presenting, again, the same omnibus decree without changes or of vote separately some issues but little or nothing has been said about whether renewing the MOVES III Plan is one of the priorities. It is the finishing touch to an aid project that It has been in the eye of the hurricane for a long time because it is considered cumbersome, not very agile and, above all, ineffective. The theory is good (help from up to 7,000 euros in the purchase of an electric car and a mandatory discount from the dealer of at least another 1,000 euros) but its application discourages future buyers. Each extension of the MOVES III Plan in recent years has come marked by enormous uncertainty. At the end of last December, the Government had not approved a renewal which, ultimately, has been ineffective. But the way of acting was repeated in previous extensions. However, the real problem is how aid is managed. The State has funds that are delivered to the autonomous communities. Regional organizations apply, how each one decidesthe procedure for submitting applications and delivering aid. In some cases, for example, the procedure can be carried out through the dealer and in others only the future buyer can do it. This led to a disagreement between administrations that left undelivered aid for three years and 250 million euros approved to buyers for whom there were no funds. It was July 2024. Months before, The Government had already committed to changing the MOVES III Plan and proposed aid that would be discounted at the time of purchase. The solution that the manufacturers have found is to advance the MOVES III Plan with an interest-free credit for the value of the aid that will be received and that must be returned in a marked period that usually goes up to 18 months. At that time, the buyer should have received the money and would return the credit to the manufacturer. However, a year after those promises, purchase aid had not been changed in Spain. And, what is worse, this aid has fallen and there is no plan on the table to approve it with a closed calendar. Without aid, there is no electric car The worst thing for Spain is that the data tells us that, without aid, there is no electric car. Even the countries where the most electric cars are purchased (percentage or volume) such as Norway and China have built strong sales of this type of technology with multiple and constant purchasing aids. They are not the only ones. How ACEA collectsPortugal does not apply taxes to the purchase of electric cars and reduces them by 75% if they are plug-in hybrids. It also does not apply taxes to vehicle ownership (such as the Spanish road tax) and has tax reductions for companies. In addition, it provides 3,000 euros of aid for the purchase of electric vehicles for cars up to 62,500 euros. In Sweden and Denmark there is no direct purchase aid with discounts but the acquisition of electric cars or their maintenance are kept tax-free (or with significant discounts). France, where electric cars have fallen slightly but nearly two out of every 10 vehicles sold are electric, also provides purchase aid similar to that in Spain. Spain has grown in electric cars sold in 2024 but its market share has decreased slightly Italy, with worse sales figures than Spain, provides aid for larger purchases but for cars priced below 35,000 euros (10,000 euros less than in Spain) so the eligible cars are smaller in number and attractiveness. In addition, it has greater discounts but the car cannot exceed 30,000 euros, which greatly limits the application of this aid. But where it has become clear that the car needs help is in Germany. There we have lived the first year without subsidies for electric cars. The reason, as in Spain, was not a consequence of turning one’s back on technology. It was based on a mere bureaucratic and formal issue, overturning aid to justice. … Read more
