Spain is 3% of its electrification target for 2030

Spain is still a long way from meeting its electrification targets for 2030. The electric vehicle market stands at 2.9 million at European level and around 150,000 units in Spain, which represents around 0.4% of the mobile fleet of our country. The first half of 2021 has shown continuous growth, accumulating a total of 16,650 registered vehicles, which is 32.8% more than during the same period of 2020 and 41.9% compared to the same period of 2019. However, the goal set is to reach 250,000 in two years and 5 million in 2030.

“Currently we do not reach even 3% of the goal that we must meet in 10 years,” says May López, a researcher at the school and director of Development of the Companies for Sustainable Mobility platform. López directs the report The electric vehicle in Spain, published by OBS Business School, in which he reviews the situation of the sector in Europe and Spain.

Our country produces 3% of the world’s cars and is the second largest producer in Europe. Of the 48 models currently manufactured in Spain, 13 are pure electric (8 are commercial vehicles, vans, and 8 are plug-in hybrids, passenger cars), but by 2035 all should be pure electric or hydrogen. The OBS report indicates that to achieve this Spain must ensure the correct adaptation of factories and the sector to objectives set by the EU for the entire fleet: cars must emit 15% less CO₂ in 2025 and from 2030 to decrease by 37.5%; as for vans, this reduction will be 15% and 31% respectively.

Last July, the EU adopted the ‘Fit for 55’ programme, a comprehensive set of proposals to make climate, energy, transport and tax policies appropriate to achieve these objectives. Regarding electric vehicles, it establishes the need to have an electric charging point every 60 km and a hydrogen recharge pump every 150 km, which would mean 3.5 million public charging stations to serve the 80,000 trucks and 30 million ‘zero emission’ cars (5 million in Spain including plug-in hybrids), which should be operational on European roads by 2030.

With this, it foresees a reduction in emissions in this decade of more than 30% and a share of 28% of renewable energy in transport, mainly through electrification and biofuels. Among other obligations, the regulation establishes that from 2023 all buildings that are not intended for residential use and with more than 20 parking spaces must have charging infrastructure. And municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants and island territories, that is, more than 140 Spanish municipalities will have to establish low-emission zones on that same date.

7.1 million fewer cars

Adapting the industry to achieve _CO2 reduction targets is complex, especially with the semiconductor crisis predicted to reduce car production worldwide by up to 7.1 million vehicles by 2021. The global shortage of this material coupled with tensions in the supply chain due to the lack of containers has led to an increase in the cost of raw materials and will likely lead to supply disruptions well into next year. The OBS report states that the sector must prepare not to depend on Asian battery suppliers. And for this, the European Commission has begun to activate projects such as the European Battery Alliance. May López believes that “it is key that, from the manufacture of batteries and vehicles, to everything related to the charging infrastructure and components of the automotive sector, Spain develops its own industry and adapts the existing one in order to maintain the current position as the second largest vehicle manufacturer in Europe and ninth worldwide”.

Secondly, it is essential to accompany the objective of reaching 5 million electric vehicles rolling on Spanish roads by 2030, with the development of public charging infrastructure. Europe sets the minimum number of active public charging stations at 3.5 million in 2030, a figure that should triple in the next decade to reach 11.4 million, and 16.3 million in 2050. The EU would have to maintain growth of 30% year-on-year to reach this target. For its part, the goal at the national level is set at 100,000 charging points by 2023 and between 250,000 and 340,000 in 2030. To achieve this, it would have to grow by 40% year-on-year.

Source: ABC