The first quarter has also closed with a downturn in the manufacture of electrified cars - pure electric and plug-in hybrids - in Spain, which adds to what the market is suffering, according to data offered this Tuesday by the manufacturers association Anfac.
In the first three months of the year, electrified vehicles produced in the country stood at 68,075 units, 21% less than in the same quarter of 2023, when activity grew at rates above 50%. It is the first quarterly decline since the technological transition gained strength in Spanish plants.
The fall has put the manufacturers themselves on alert. "The drop in the production of electrified vehicles is bad news," says the general director of Anfac, José López-Tafall. "A situation that only warns that there is little point in manufacturing and attracting electrified vehicles to our factories if they are not sold in our market," he adds.
In March, the production of electrified vehicles fell by 12%, to 24,451, which represented 12.5% of the total. The majority, 24,021 units, are passenger cars, whose decline reaches 14%. In the accumulated of the year, the electrified share now stands at 10.4%.
In Spain, more than fifteen electric or plug-in hybrid models are produced. Hybrid versions of the León and Formentor come out of Martorell waiting for the arrival of the pure electric ones, while the Megane and Captur are assembled at the Renault factories in Valladolid and Palencia, with this same technology. Ford produces the Kuga plug-in hybrid in Valencia.
Of the pure electric ones, the Mercedes vans stand out, the E-vito and EQV, in addition to those made by Stellantis in Vigo, which are the Berlingo, Cargo, Partner, Doblo, Proace and Furgo. In Madrid, the same group makes the C2 and C4, and in Figueruelas it produces the electric Corsa. All these data are from the latest annual report published by Anfac.
The association insists on its request for a Government stimulus plan for the purchase of electric vehicles, which amounts to a new version of the Moves plan.
"Either we work to promote a framework that accelerates the demand for electrified vehicles by individuals and companies by improving purchase aid, taxation and accelerating the development of publicly accessible charging infrastructure, or we will face a situation with a declining market that will lead to a decrease in production and the risk of not meeting our decarbonization objectives," says López-Tafall.
The association also reports a general decline in production in March due to problems in the supply of components due to delays and diversions of ships in the Red Sea due to Houthi attacks against vessels.
Vehicle production fell overall by 17.7% in March compared to the same month in 2023 and stood at 195,252 units. The month was marked both by problems in the supply of components in several factories and by adjustments in production due to market demand. Added to that was the Easter holiday period.
