One of the main issues that puts citizens off when buying an electric car is the impression that there are not enough publicly accessible charging points. However, they have experienced exponential growth in two years: in 2022 they increased by 38%, going from 13,300 to 21,500, and last year they rose even more: 41% to 30,350. In fact, according to the second Electric Mobility Yearbook released this Wednesday, these public access equipment have an average use time of only 6.3%. “Anyone who says that there are no charging points is not living up to the truth, there are more than enough charging points,” said Arturo Pérez de Lucia, general secretary of the Business Association for Development and Promotion, in the presentation of this data. of Electric Mobility of Spain and Portugal (Aedive), where it has also been explained that in 2023 almost 140,000 plug-in vehicles were sold, 12.2% of the total (the previous year it was 13%).
The yearbook does not give figures for private chargers in private homes or garages, which must be many more, but are more difficult to count – for example, Iberdrola alone has already installed 25,000. Regarding those with public access, the fast charging infrastructure (from 50 to 250 kW), available to all users, grew by 95%, going from 984 points to 1,923. Meanwhile, ultra-fast (with more than 250 kW) increased by 90%, from 309 to 587 locations. These are points in operation, as there are thousands already installed but waiting to connect to the network. These types of recharges are essential for trips, as they allow the car to be charged in times ranging from 15 to 30 minutes, the time it can take to stop, go to the bathroom and have a coffee, just like in a car. combustion. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement: according to a recent analysis by EL PAÍS using data from the end of the year, only 6% of the country's chargers exceed 150 kW.
Ultra-fast public access points are precisely those most in demand by citizens. According to a survey by Aedive and the Association of Electric Mobility Users (Auve) included in the yearbook, the vast majority of users of this type of vehicle believe that the most important thing is the expansion of ultra-fast charging on the road. Furthermore, 63% of those who already have an electric vehicle believe that they can travel through Spain without problems, while another 29% think that it is possible to travel, but not through all the autonomous communities, since in some there are still few places to charge. . “There is enough charging infrastructure to travel around Spain. And I say this as a user of these vehicles for 10 years,” explained Pérez de Lucia.
The other challenge is slow charging points for those who cannot have one at home or at work. “We are working on parking lots public, parking lots of residents, and the market is developing different solutions for public roads,” commented the Aedive spokesperson. “We also need to improve signage so that everyone knows where they can charge,” he added. In this sense, the DGT has released a sign to inform where these locations are located. In total, adding fast and slow points, in 2023 there were 8,777 new operating equipment installed. According to Aedive, the average usage ratio of 6.3% shows that the deployment of this equipment “is far above the needs of the current electric vehicle fleet.”
The yearbook, the most complete analysis of the sector, has also calculated the electrical consumption in recharging these vehicles: it amounted to 640 GWh last year, of which 92 GWh were consumed in public recharging and the rest in linked, that is, at home or at work. Thus, users tend to use nearby chargers in private garages or companies more than those with public access. This consumption is equivalent to that made per year by 200,000 homes and avoided emissions of 500,000 tons of CO₂, which according to Aedive “shows the importance that the electric vehicle is acquiring from energy and environmental perspectives.”
Delay in aid for electric vehicles
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Regarding the sale of plug-in cars, 2023 closed with almost 140,000 units of electric and plug-in hybrids (139,185), with an increase of 39% compared to the previous year and a market share of 12.2%; Of them, 76,347 were pure electric (46% increase) and 62,838 plug-in hybrids (30%). In this case there is a certain stagnation, since last year the quota reached 13%. Sources in the sector attribute this to the delay in collecting the aid from the Moves Plan, whose term can exceed two years, which the Government has already committed to reforming and streamlining.
The Secretary of State for Energy, Sara Aagesen, participated in the presentation of the yearbook, held at the Ministry for the Ecological Transition. Aagesen has pointed out that electric mobility “is essential to address the challenge of climate change and the energy transition.” In this sense, she recalled that transportation is “the largest emitter in our country”, as it has already exceeded 30% of total emissions, which also “leads us to a great external dependence that makes us vulnerable.” For this reason, “when we talk about electric mobility we talk about strategic autonomy”, and she highlighted that the Government is committed to this type of mobility.
Pérez de Lucia ended with an optimistic message. In his opinion, in the next five years, “we will experience a technological change with extraordinary advances in battery design, which will determine the autonomy and capacities of the electric vehicles of the future, with greater energy and chemical densities linked to the solid electrolyte and other alternatives. to lithium. In addition, megawatt recharging will arrive, to also respond to heavy electric vehicles. “The European production of more affordable and small vehicles will be promoted, as well as additive manufacturing, already present in the automotive industry.”
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