Electrified cars represent a very small slice of the mobile fleet pie in Spain. Although 78,316 passenger cars with electric technologies were sold in 2022, which represents an increase of 17.1% compared to the previous year, this figure is still far from the minimum of 120,000 registrations necessary to achieve the emission reduction targets for 2030. This is confirmed by the employers’ association of automobile manufacturers Anfac, which points out that Spain circulates “in the caboose” when it comes to the development of electrification in Europe.
The high price of electric vehicles and a deficient public charging network are other factors that slow down electromobility in our country. If, on the one hand, the acquisition of an electrified car means making a much higher outlay than for another similar gasoline or diesel model, on the other, we find that at the end of 2022 Spain only had 18,128 charging points.
A figure that is far from the objectives indicated in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan set by the Government, which set for 2023 between 80,000 and 100,000 public access charging points and 250,000 electrified vehicles.
To all this, we must add that the price of energy in our country does not represent an incentive to achieve a quantum leap in terms of electromobility either. Electricity in Spain is expensive. This is clear from a study carried out by Switcher, an Irish company dedicated to comparing the prices of basic products, which has calculated the cost of recharging an average battery and the cost of traveling 100 kilometers with the best-selling electric car in each country. .
In Spain, the average price per kWh is 0.31 euros, an amount much higher than that of the Netherlands (0.05 euros per kWh), Kosovo (0.06 euros per kWh) or Georgia (0.07 euros per kWh). kWh), which are the countries where energy is cheaper. Thus, the cost for a Spanish citizen to recharge the battery at home is 18.63 euros. That is, for every 100 kilometers you pay 5.46 euros.
There is no doubt that this amount is much lower than the cost of a hundred kilometers with an internal combustion engine car. But even so, it is very far from what it means for the majority of European drivers who move with an electrified car. In the Netherlands, for example, charging an electric battery costs 2.74 euros, so a journey of 100 kilometers costs just 0.80 euros, according to the Switcher report.
In Spain, it can even be more expensive to travel from Madrid to Barcelona in an electric car than in a gasoline or diesel car, if we need to recharge quickly during the journey. A study by the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) on the rates at 50 charging stations on the main highways in our country reaches this conclusion after verifying that some suppliers charge up to 0.79 euros per kWh.
In relation to other geographically closer countries, such as Portugal and France, Spain also loses out in the comparison. The price per kWh in France is 0.21 euros and in Portugal 0.22 kWh -compared to 0.31 euros in Spain-, so the cost of recharging is about 5 euros cheaper than in our country . Instead, Italy moves in parameters similar to those of Spain.
The study points out that the large price variations among the 39 countries analyzed depend on several factors. In addition to subsidies, rates and taxes, the geopolitical situation of each country and the percentage of renewable energy in each of them must also be taken into account. Other factors influencing prices are diversification of imports and electricity grid costs, weather conditions and environmental protection policies, the report’s authors add.
In this sense, Switcher highlights that the incentives offered by governments for the acquisition of an electrified vehicle vary substantially in each country. Although, in general, the aid is similar (subsidized purchase, tax benefits, free parking, discount on tolls…) the amount of the aid is what widens the gap.
In the specific case of Spain, the contribution of the Moves III Plan stands out, with maximum aid of up to 7,000 euros for the acquisition of an electrified car, but it also cites the deficient charging network with few active points.
