Created in April 2010, AEDIVE is the Business Association for the Development and Promotion of Electric Mobility that brings together the entire electric vehicle value chain. Deputy General Director, Arturo Pérez de Lucía, explains to ABC what the situation is with electrification in Spain.
– Which brands lead the sale of electric vehicles in Spain?
Among the best-selling brands in Spain are Tesla, MG, Fiat, Citroen or Dacia, but the most important thing is to highlight that in the first four months of the year, electric vehicles have accumulated a rise of 31.7% in registrations in Spain and by type of propulsion, 100% electric vehicles of all kinds grew by 34.3%, while there are more and more models in the manufacturers’ portfolio, which translates into a notable increase in the offer with different prices and capacities, for meet the variety of user needs.
– In Spain, ambitious goals have been set, such as reaching 5 million electric vehicles in 2030 and 100,000 charging points in four years. Will we get there?
We are on the way, although the challenges are very ambitious and we still have barriers to overcome, such as purchase incentives and taxation, which must be aimed at promoting immediate price signals on purchases, as is the case in countries that more sales are collected from electric vehicles, and the obstacles linked to the granting of permits and licenses for the installation and start-up of public charging infrastructures.
– Sales of plug-in hybrids are growing by leaps and bounds compared to pure electric ones, but the autonomy is very different. What will we see in the future?
We are already seeing it and it is the arrival of 100% electric models that offer solutions for short, medium and long-distance mobility. The market needed electric vehicles with high battery density, that is, with greater autonomy, and high-power recharging capacity that allows recharging times for these batteries to be reduced to a minimum, and today there is a portfolio that responds to all kinds of needs. of needs and with prices that are close to their burning mirrors, without counting on the help of MOVES.
The truth is that today, traveling with a 100% electric vehicle is feasible in Spain from the perspective of autonomy and the availability of charging stations.
– What measures do you consider appropriate for the electric car to gain ground within the car fleet in Spain?
There are three important factors. One is communication, because until now, the public has received confusing and discouraging information about the electric vehicle, which has nothing to do with the reality of a technology that currently offers solutions for all types of users. For this reason, from AEDIVE we are working so that there is a coherence of information on this market from the public administrations and from the industry itself.
The second factor is a tax reform that aligns the objectives of decarbonizing transport with those of electric vehicle registrations, because price signals must be offered to users when purchasing and the incentives that exist in Spain are not what the market needs. .
The third is to expedite the demolition of the barriers that currently hinder the deployment of charging infrastructures, especially in the granting of permits and licences. The growth of these infrastructures is daily and constant, but the recharging operators continue to face difficulties despite the fact that the regulation has tried to favor this situation, especially because there are some municipalities that do not obey what is established by a legal order with the force of law, such as RDL 29/2021, especially with regard to responsible statements.
– What would you say to a user who is currently doubting whether to buy an electric vehicle?
That today it is a real option, that it allows lowering the operating costs of the vehicle in its useful life compared to a combustion model, that there is a wide variety of 100% electric models for short, medium and long distances and that the electric mobility is much more advanced, mature and affordable than what has been led to believe until now. Therefore, inform yourself and draw your conclusions based on experience.
In this sense, from AEDIVE we invite those who are in Madrid on September 8, 9 and 10 to visit the eighth edition of the VEM 2023 electric vehicle fair, which will take place as always in the Plaza de Colón in the capital, accessible free of charge to any citizen and where they can test all kinds of electric vehicles in an urban environment, so that they can check first-hand their features, capacities and prices.
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