Spain's Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Must Grow Twentyfold To Meet Objectives
Spain News
Published: 09 June 2023 18:32 CET
According to a report presented in Madrid by consultancy firm LEK Consulting during a conference organised by Repsol and the association of automotive suppliers Sernauto, Spain is falling behind in the installation of charging points for electric cars compared to the European average. To achieve the community objectives set for 2035, the country must multiply its charging infrastructure by twenty.
The report highlights that Spain will need to install 482,000 charging points in the coming years, necessitating substantial investments in equipment and electrical networks. This effort is part of a broader European initiative aiming to deploy 4.7 million charging points.
Among the autonomous communities, Andalusia requires the highest number of charging points, with 84,000, followed by Catalonia with 72,000 and Madrid with 70,000. Conversely, regions like Aragon, despite their large territory, will require a much lower number, approximately 12,000 new points.
Currently, Spain only has 25,000 charging stations, whereas the European Union as a whole boasts 432,000, with only a fifth of them being fast chargers. The report suggests that streamlining bureaucratic processes is key to facilitating the deployment of additional charging points, as business opportunities for operators already exist.
On the consumer side, electric cars remain considerably more expensive than conventional vehicles. Price differences for models costing less than 40,000 euros are around 33 percent but diminish as the price range increases. Luxury electric cars priced at over 90,000 euros still maintain an 18 percent price difference favouring combustion engines.
The report predicts that price parity will not begin to be observed until at least 2025. The entry of Chinese electric car brands with more competitive prices is expected to contribute to price reductions.
The presentation of the report saw the attendance of José María López, the commissioner of Perte VEC. The government, after submitting the addendum to the Recovery Plan to Brussels, is preparing to launch the second call for the automotive investment program on July 1.
López confirmed that the second part of the Perte will focus on batteries, with "a significant number of projects related to battery manufacturing, refining and processing of raw materials, and assembly." However, no specific details were provided. It was recently reported that Tesla expressed interest in investing around 4.5 billion euros in Valencia, but the commissioner did not provide any information regarding this matter.
Notably, the aid ministry order demonstrates flexibility, allowing for the submission of individual projects and encompassing a wide range of industrial activities related to batteries, from material refining to box manufacturing.
Sources
https://www.lavanguardia.com/economia/20230609/9030159/espana-debe-multiplicar-20-puntos-carga-electricos-cumplir-objetivos.html
