The lack of publicly accessible charging points and the price difference compared to combustion vehicles are two of the factors that are exposed as the main brake on the electrification of the automotive industry in Spain. And although progress is being made, with increasingly more accessible vehicles and more refueling points for plug-in cars, the Electromobility Barometer for the first quarter of the year makes it clear that Spain continues to maintain its distance from the rest of Europe, at the tail end.
The data provided by the Anfac Manufacturers Association demonstrates this: charging points have increased by 10% with 3,121 new ones during the first three months of the year, and throughout the territory there are a total of 32,422 publicly accessible charging points.
But on the negative side, non-operational installed points increased by 11%. There are 8,645 that, if operational, would raise the public access charging network to 41,067 points.
The public charging infrastructure for electrified vehicles is also not advancing at the desired pace. During the first three months of 2024, the charging infrastructure indicator obtains a rating of 7.6 out of 100. Although it advances 0.9 points compared to the last edition of the Electromobility Barometer, so does the number of charging points out of service by almost 900, with a total of 8,645. Spain’s charging network could be much better if the large number that are now not operational were put into operation, either because they are in poor condition, damaged or have not yet been able to connect to the electrical distribution network. This means 21% of the 41,067 public access charging points installed in Spain.
In view of these data, Spain remains in second-to-last place with a score of 7.6 at the European level, only surpassing the Czech Republic (5.8) and Hungary (3.7). The European average grew 1.6 points in the first quarter of the year, standing at 15.9 points.
At the national level, the growth in the charging infrastructure indicator in the autonomous communities that lead the ranking stands out: Castilla y León (+2), Catalonia (+1.4) and Cantabria (+1.7). A heterogeneous evolution continues to be observed by region, which increases the differences.
Lack of fast charging points
The ultra-fast charging network greater than or equal to 150 kW grows by 578 new public access charging points during the first quarter. Currently, Spain has 2,103 points of this power, which represents only 6.5% of the total network. The progress of this network is essential both to bring recharging times closer to the refueling times of combustion vehicles and to facilitate the performance of the activity for goods or passenger vehicles.
Likewise, only 25% of the public access charging infrastructure in Spain corresponds to charging with power greater than 22 kW. According to the objectives estimated by the Anfac Manufacturers Association, 51% of the charging points should have powers greater than 22 kW in the year 2024. Thus, 75% of the total public access charging points are low power, which implies talking about minimum recharge times of 3 hours. In the first quarter of 2024, 1,758 charging points with a power of 22 kW or less have been installed.
Global indicator
For its part, the global electromobility indicator (which assesses the penetration of electrified vehicles and the installation of publicly accessible charging infrastructure) has reached a total score of 14.7 points, a growth of six tenths compared to the last barometer. . Even so, at the European level, Spain continues to lag behind: the European average stands at 28.2 points, double the national average.
Only four regions grow above the average (14.7): Madrid, Navarra, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. This highlights the differences in electrification progress between different regions. Once again, Madrid and Navarra are the territories that show the greatest growth in the ranking, with an increase of seven and six tenths, respectively. In this way, Madrid’s final score stands at 21.8 points and Navarra’s at 18.7.
Electric sales slow down
During the first quarter of 2024, the electrified vehicle penetration indicator has obtained a rating of 21.7, which represents an increase of two tenths compared to the latest data, stagnating after the growth experienced in the last quarter of 2023. The slowdown in the evolution of the registration of electrified vehicles has caused some regions to register a decline compared to the previous quarter, such as the Balearic Islands, the Valencian Community, Aragon, La Rioja and Extremadura. On the contrary, the growth of Asturias and the Canary Islands stands out, growing 1.4 and 0.8 points, respectively.
In the European index, Spain is at the bottom only ahead of Italy (18.8), Hungary (18.7) and the Czech Republic (14.8). In any case, very far from the European average of 40.5 (+0.1 points). Germany continues to feel the impact of the end of aid on the electrification of the passenger car market, falling by 0.7 points. Italy also falls compared to the previous quarter (-0.7 points), in this case caused by consumer expectations regarding the arrival of incentives for the purchase of electrified vehicles throughout the year.
During the first quarter of 2024, 27,077 electrified passenger cars were sold, which represents only 9.7% of compliance with the annual objective, set at 280,000. It is clearly an insufficient rhythm, which should have registered close to 70,000 units in the first quarter and which places Spain very far from the objectives necessary to comply with what is established by Fit for 55.
With all these figures on the table, José López-Tafall, general director of Anfac explains that “the buyer does not want risks: if there is no certainty and simplicity in the aid plans, and immediacy in collection, many operations do not occur. On the other hand, although the evolution of charging points is advancing at a good pace, the lack of information about their location, situation and generalization of a single payment system does not make it visible to all users, who continue to see this issue as a clear brake on the purchase of electric vehicles. The flagrant absence of charging signs on the roads, despite the fact that the points are operational, is a very obvious indicator that even in the easiest aspects to solve we are not making progress. The lack of governance and a single vision of the process explains many of these shortcomings.
From Anfac they insist on the need to establish a series of tools that facilitate a deployment in capillarity, quantity and quality, with measures such as those proposed by the association such as the implementation of a State Center managed by the Ministry of Transport that is in charge to supervise, coordinate and guarantee the deployment of this national network. Likewise, it is necessary to improve the current map of charging infrastructure, launched by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, with updated information on the location, operation and prices of the publicly accessible charging points available in Spain.
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