Electromobility penetration in Spain lagging far behind the European average

 For the first time in 2020, Spain is not in last place in the Electromobility Barometer published by ANFAC (Asociación Española de Fabricantes de Automóviles y Camiones — Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers). Spain saw an increase of 2.5 points to score 14.9 out of a total of 100 in the global electromobility indicator for the third quarter of 2020. This indicator assesses the penetration of electric vehicles and the development of charging infrastructure.

This assessment places Spain ahead of other countries like Hungary, Italy and the Czech Republic, reflecting a small but steady growth. However, electromobility penetration in Spain lags far behind the European average, the rating for which—29.6 out of 100—grew by more than five points in the last quarter.

Increased electric vehicle penetration

The purchase of electric vehicles remains sluggish despite the momentum generated by vehicle manufacturers, in terms of both supply (with over 200 electric models already on the market and almost 70 more about to be released) and campaigns to publicize and raise awareness of these vehicles.

Spain thus remains in one of the bottom positions in the European ranking, with a level of growth similar to that of neighboring countries, but still well below the European average, which shot up by more than ten points during the third quarter.

Stalled development of charging infrastructure

The development of charging infrastructures stalled in the third quarter of 2020, with the indicator showing an increase of only one point and this aspect scoring an overall rating of 7.5 points out of 100.

Spain ranks among the bottom positions in the European ranking, above only Portugal, Italy, the Czech Republic and Hungary, but is still seven points below the European average of 14.1 points in the overall rating.

Similarly, Spain’s neighboring countries—although their figures were higher than Spain—improved only slightly in the last quarter, with an average increase of one point each. Norway and the Netherlands stood out from the crowd with increases of ten and six points, respectively.