"We have not progressed at all". "We lost a year". "We have the same quotas as in March 2023". These are some of the expressions used by the association of vehicle manufacturers Anfac to describe the current situation around the electric car. Sales of these vehicles and production at Spanish plants have fallen during the beginning of the year for the first time since the EU began to bet on technological change. At the moment what has happened is just a blip or a teenage crisis, but the impression is spreading in the sector that the take-off of the electric car still needs fuel. "If it continues like this, we will really worry in May", they add from Anfac.
The data from the consultancy Ideauto, which follows car registrations on a daily basis, shows that in April, until the 25th, electric vehicle sales have fallen by 4.2%. If there is no recovery, the data will be added to the decline in March in the sale of electrified cars – electric and plug-in hybrids –, which was 9.1%. In the case of pure electrics, the decrease was 12%.
These falls take place in the emerging segment of the market, which is expected to increase by double digits to gradually scratch the share of combustion cars. The year 2023 closed with a percentage of electrified passenger cars on the total of 12%, and now it barely reaches 10% at the beginning of the year. The new mobility is not only not gaining ground, it is retreating.
To the cold evolution of the data are added the images of last Easter, with dozens of Tesla vehicles standing in long queues to recharge. Arturo Pérez de Lucia, general director of Aedive, an association dedicated to supporting the electric car, explains that the scene is far from reality - there were other free chargers in nearby areas - and considers it crucial to "reverse the cascade of disincentive information".
They proliferate, according to him, messages that have favored "a current of negative thinking in the buyer". Among the ideas that discourage consumers and that Aedive points out as false are those that there are not enough charging infrastructures, that electric vehicles catch fire or that they are more polluting.
A recent Carwow survey describes user beliefs surrounding electric car myths. 63% remain convinced that the autonomy of their batteries is not sufficient and 34% say that they run the risk of catching fire.
The truth is that Aedive considers that this year it should be "reasonable" to reach 200,000 units of registered electric cars, although Anfac data shows that in March barely 10,633 were sold, and this figure includes both electric and plug-in hybrids.
From the sales association Ganvam, they assure that automotive companies, contrary to what you might believe, are committed to change. "We believe it is an unstoppable trend", although they doubt that at the current rate it will be possible to reach the goal that by 2030 at least one in three registrations will be electric cars.
"Either we work to foster a framework that accelerates demand for electrified vehicles by improving purchase subsidies, taxation and accelerating the development of public access charging infrastructure, or we face a bearish market and at the risk of not meeting the decarbonisation objectives", says the director general of Anfac, José López-Tafall.
By incentives, the companies refer above all to the launch of a new Moves plan in which the grants are distributed with agility and are paid at the time of purchase. They also demand tax changes, and for this they need the approval of the Ministry of Finance.
The message from the Ministry of Industry is one of commitment. "Currently all the ministries involved are working on a new plan to support the purchase of the electric vehicle and expand the recharging infrastructure", say the sources. However, time is running out because the Moves plan expires in July and there is still no information about the launch of new programs.
The sluggishness of the market is directly related to the situation in the factories, in which the production of electrified vehicles has fallen by 21% in the first quarter. The Ministry of Industry has just announced the launch in June of the third call for the Perte VEC to boost the electric and connected car industry. It will have 500 million, to which a fourth call will be added in the second semester for 1,250 million. Investments are necessary, but not sufficient. "If electricity is not bought, neither can it be produced", warns Anfac.
On a European scale, the situation is not very different. In March, electricity sales fell by 11%, according to the Acea association. Tesla, which has lost 30% in the stock market since the beginning of the year, has announced that it will cut 10% of its workforce. Mercedes-Benz has revised down its electrification target and Ford has quarantined some plans to bet on hybrids.
Aedive is presenting a plan to several ministries with a delegation for Spain to comply as soon as possible with improving the European infrastructure regulation for alternative fuels.
