At the end of 2022, a total of 1.1 million passenger cars circulating in Spain were electrified, that is, they were electric or hybrid. The number of green cars, which mainly comprise the aforementioned as well as those powered by alternative fuels, grew by 18.9% compared to 2021. In contrast, gasoline cars only increased by 2.81%, while diesel cars they remained stagnant.
According to data collected by Somos Seguros - UNESPA's insurance culture dissemination initiative - in collaboration with Tirea and Centro Zaragoza, ecological passenger cars represent 4.64% of the insured vehicle fleet in our country, almost one percentage point more than in the previous year.
By type of engine, at the end of 2022, there were a total of 820,788 hybrid passenger cars, 183,961 pure electric cars, 161,855 that were powered by liquefied gas and 8,724 that were powered by other means.
Most of these examples are driven by middle-aged people (between 31 and 65 years old). In relative terms, this type of vehicle has a greater weight among young people - that is, among drivers between 18 and 30 years old -, representing 5.61% of the total cars driven by them.
As for whether there are more men or women who drive ecological cars, the data shows a distribution similar to that of the examples powered only by an internal combustion engine. Thus, they are the holders of 25.28% of the ecological passenger car policies, 28.62% of the gasoline cars and 26.87% of the diesel cars.
Somos Seguros wanted to emphasize that these figures should not be confused with those that may be disseminated by other sources, such as the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), regarding people with a driving license, since the status of insurance holder presupposes that that person is the habitual driver of the insured vehicle, but it does not imply that she is the only one who uses it.
If we focus on the presence of electrified vehicles by territory, we can affirm that there are more in the Community of Madrid, where they represent 8.5% of the regional mobile fleet, followed by Catalonia (5.12%) and the Balearic Islands ( 4.55%). On the contrary, the regions where the hybrid and electric vehicles have a lower relative weight are Extremadura (1.70%), Castilla-La Mancha (2.31%) and Castilla y León (2.53%). By province, the greatest weight of these vehicles is in Madrid (8.5% of the territorial fleet), Barcelona (5.63%), Balearic Islands (4.55%), Gerona (4.33%) and Álava ( 4.03%).
If we close the focus to look at the municipalities with more than 75,000 inhabitants, the presence of alternative motorizations stands out in Las Rozas, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Alcobendas, Sant Boi or Mataró, as well as in the Madrid and Barcelona themselves. Based on these data, it can be deduced that electrified cars are being implemented earlier in locations with incomes higher than the national average. Especially if they are located on the outskirts of a large city.
Furthermore, according to Somos Seguros, their owners are usually active people, who make round trips of several dozen kilometers every day. These drivers opt for an ecological vehicle to reduce the cost of their trips and take advantage of the advantages that the Madrid and Barcelona city councils have provided for these cars when it comes to parking.
As regards the brands, based on data from insured vehicles, half of the electrified vehicle fleet corresponds to passenger cars from the Toyota group: 42.53% are Toyota and 7.77% are Lexus, a luxury firm belonging to to the same company. They are followed by the South Korean conglomerate Kia Motors (11.32%) with Kia and Hyundai; and Renault-Nissan (9.74%), with Dacia, Renault, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Infiniti. Then comes Stellantis (8.01%), parent company of Opel, Peugeot, Fiat, Citröen, Jeep, DS and Alfa Romeo. Behind is Volkswagen (5.17%), owner of Seat, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Škoda, Cupra and Suzuki.
