MADRID, 21 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
In Spain there is a “risk” that it will not be possible to lower the price of electric vehicles and reduce them until they are comparable to combustion vehicles in 2035, the year in which the latter will cease to be marketed in the European Union (EU), according to a report on the national automobile sector prepared by the Kiriom company.
Specifically, 62% of the experts surveyed for the sector report believe that this risk exists, so “without lowering prices (of electric cars) to competitive levels, it will be difficult to prohibit the sale of combustion vehicles in 2035” and will turn it into a “utopian” goal.
Regarding the main factors that the automotive sector in Spain will have to deal with to improve the penetration of electric vehicles, the lack of investment in charging infrastructure and the “slow renewal” of the park, which “causes the increase in weight of vehicles older than 15 years”.
Despite this, the report points out that close to 80% of consumers are already considering buying an electrified vehicle, while it is expected that in 2024 Spain will stop being “at the tail of Europe” in terms of the penetration of this type of cars and the situation “begins to reverse”, a statement with which 85% of the experts surveyed in the analysis agree.
For his part, the CEO of Volvo Car Spain, José María Galofré, stressed that the problem of penetration of electric vehicles in the country is due to two main reasons. On the one hand, the “perception” that they are more expensive than combustion, a factor that, in his opinion, “is no longer real” due to “the aid and incentives that currently exist.”
Galofré has considered that the other reason is the lack of infrastructure in Spain, given that there are currently around 15,000 public charging points, “very far from the 45,000 that was the plan for this year.”
“But according to the Government, by the end of 2023 the estimate is 100,000 charging points in Spain, so we are sure that the infrastructure will gradually cease to be a problem,” he added in the interview included in the report.
Meanwhile, the director of Retail, Marketing and Mobility at the mobility and vehicle leasing company Arval, Manuel Orejas, stressed that “one of the great trends that is marking the present and future of mobility” is the Change of the model of car in property for the one of payment for use.
“Buying a car represents a large investment and entails many costs: economic, time and worry. Renting to individuals eliminates all uncertainties (you know how much you are going to pay each month) and worries (without unforeseen expenses for breakdowns, repairs, change of tyres, taxes, insurance policies; and without worrying about what technology will become obsolete or how much they will pay me for my car when I sell it) and offers all the advantages of an all-inclusive service”, has defended.
For her part, the vice president of the Federation of Automotive Dealership Associations (Faconauto), Marta Blázquez, has argued that it is necessary “to apply tax deductions to promote electric vehicles and charging points.”
