More than seven million cars will not be able to access the Low Emission Zones (ZBE) that municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants and those with more than 20,000 that exceed the limit polluting values are obliged to establish. This is the calculation of the Círculo Neutral in Motion (NIM), an organization made up of different associations from the automotive sector, which has warned of a problem that it attributes to the age of the Spanish car fleet (13.9 years on average).
For this forum, the recent ZBE regulations, under the classification of the different environmental labels of the DGT, could help to improve, in part, the air quality of our cities and reduce the impact on climate change.
However, they urge tackling the age problem: “It is essential to first tackle the main underlying problem through the rejuvenation of the Spanish car park, which currently exceeds the European average by almost two years, which is around 12 years, according to the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA). Our country is still further away, if we compare it, for example, with Germany, with an average age of 9.8 years, or the United Kingdom, with 9.4 years, ”explains the sector in a statement.
By communities, the oldest vehicles are found in Castilla-La Mancha, Galicia, Asturias or Castilla y León. The only region that is below the European average is the Community of Madrid.
With this x-ray, the NIM warns that almost 30% of the country's vehicles will not be able to access the LEZs that municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants and those with more than 20,000 that exceed polluting values are obliged to establish in their territory. limit. Specifically, this new regulation will affect 7.5 million passenger cars, which will no longer access these central areas.
In this context, the sector asks the Government for different measures. Among them, direct aid for the purchase of new vehicles or vehicles less than five years old, as well as addressing the reform of automotive taxation with the possible replacement of the registration tax by a new tax for use.
It also defends the application of different tax exemptions, such as the taxation of personal income tax (IRPF) of direct aid for the purchase of new cars or the deduction of corporate tax or VAT (tax on the value added) for companies and the self-employed for the acquisition of zero-emission vehicles, something that in the entity's opinion "will contribute directly" to the renewal of the fleet.
"Not taking this type of measure would lead to maintaining the current trend with the increase in the average age of the national park and, therefore, to greater aging and less inclusive mobility," the main organizations in the sector point out.
The Government approved last December the Royal Decree that regulates ZBEs in our country. In the text, the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (Miteco) established that Spanish municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, island territories and municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants that exceed the limit values of regulated pollutants "must adopt before 2023 sustainable urban mobility plans that introduce mitigation measures".
According to the ministry, these areas should help improve air quality and mitigate climate change. In addition, the Miteco assures "it will ensure that the measures associated with the fulfillment of these purposes promote compliance with the acoustic quality objectives, the promotion of modal change and the promotion of energy efficiency in the use of means of transport." The objective: to improve the health of citizens and the quality of urban life.
