The Government reaffirms its objective of having five million electric cars in Spain by 2030

The acting Executive maintains its goal of five million electric vehicles circulating in Spain by 2030. This has been assured this Thursday by José Domínguez Abascal, Secretary of State for Energy, who advances that the Government has, despite the electoral call next Sunday, intends to send the final National Energy and Climate Plan to Brussels in the coming weeks.

In this document, which reflects the guidelines for action until 2030, a goal that was already announced at the end of last year would be maintained. This is an ambitious goal, given that last year only 13,176 electric vehicles were marketed in Spain.

“Although the goal is ambitious, we hope that reality will surpass it,” Abascal explained during the V Nissan Mobility Forum. “Almost always the objectives fall short, because the adoption by citizens is usually much faster,” he added. He also recalled that this plan will contemplate, among other measures, the creation of low-emission zones similar to Central Madrid in cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants.

In his speech, the Secretary of State defended the electric vehicle, both for environmental and economic reasons. “The evolution is necessary from the climate point of view – transport accounts for 27% of CO2 emissions in Spain, he said – but also of the balance of payments. In 2017, Spain imported 74% of its primary energy. We hope to reduce that dependence by 15 points and reach 59%, that would be a great modification of the current account deficit of our country.”

For his part, Marco Toro, director and general director of Nissan Ibérica, asked the next government for “a stable aid plan”, as well as a reduced VAT for electric vehicles. “It would be the best way to have stable and easy to communicate help to the buyer,” he said. “We have to take action very quickly, because 2020 will already set the tone for reducing emissions.”

The executive defended the electric car as the way to meet emissions targets, and estimated that it will grow to 4% of the market in 2020, for which he asked that “false myths” surrounding the electric car be ended, such as that its price is higher. “The purchase cost is still higher than that of a combustion and hybrid model, but if there are aids, it is not more expensive, because the cost of ownership is lower,” he said, while defending the advantages of “the mobility of the future, electrified, connected and autonomous” for Spain. Electrification, connectivity and autonomous vehicles would contribute 15% to Spanish GDP in 2030, about 190,000 million euros, according to estimates by Accenture, the consultancy SBD + GSNA and the European Parliament.

Source: ABC