Edited by Asiautos Auto Part
A 1943 live video was widely circulated on the Chinese Internet, showing that in Spain at that time, electric car battery replacement was already very common, no less fast than the current NIO car battery change.
In 1943, Spain was a European economic power, and its position in the world was much higher than now, and the automobile industry also had a certain influence in the world, standing on the front line of the electric vehicle market at that time. To this day, the Spain automotive industry still has a certain place in the world.
Not long ago, Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited China and had in-depth exchanges with the senior management of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the main purpose of which is to attract Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers to invest in Spain.
To have such a move, first of all, it proves that Spain's new energy vehicle industry has a certain foundation; Secondly, it shows that his relevant industrial policies have a certain degree of continuity and are less disturbed by off-site factors.
Spain, an old automobile country, what is the level of the new energy automobile industry now?
Let's start with sales. Data shows that in 2023, the sales of pure electric vehicles in Spain will reach 51,614, a year-on-year increase of 69.1%, but the overall penetration rate is only 5.44%, an increase of less than two percentage points compared with 2022.
At the same time, Spain's plug-in hybrid model sales in 2023 reached 62,162 units, and if this is also included, Spain's new energy vehicle penetration rate can reach 12%, while the European market average is 21%.
According to local Spain forecasts, their new energy vehicle sales are expected to reach 280,000 this year, more than double the number in 2023. But now it looks like that forecast may not come true, as Spain sold 32,596 electric vehicles from January to August, down 0.7% year-on-year.
The pressure on EV sales may be related to the lack of local infrastructure. In 2023, there will be 30,345 public charging points in Spain, but a large part of them are primary and secondary charging piles (voltage below 240V), which is equivalent to domestic "slow charging", and the number of tertiary charging piles using DC fast charging is currently small, and it is mainly used in special sections such as highway service areas.
It is worth mentioning that Spain is relatively backward compared with China in terms of charging technology, and the charging power of 120kW is defined as "ultra-fast charging", while the maximum charging power of China's supercharging pile can even reach 600kW.
In terms of new energy industry policy, Spain is relatively stable, and currently has formulated the MOVES 3 plan to provide direct subsidies for new energy vehicles, of which individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises can receive subsidies of up to 9,000 euros, with a total planned budget of 4~800 million euros.
In addition, the Spain government also offers a trade-in subsidy similar to China's, and users who scrap their old cars can get subsidies when buying electric vehicles.
According to Spain's Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030, by 2030, they will achieve the landing of 5 million electric vehicles and build 500,000 charging stations.
Looking at specific car companies, Spain is the second largest car producer in Europe, with a total vehicle production of 2.45 million units in 2023, surpassing Italy and France, but the domestic market is relatively small, and 87% of sales are exported. The largest local brand is SEAT, but in 1990 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Germany.
This reality determines that Spain is unlikely to produce large new energy vehicle brands, and it is more suitable as a production base for major car manufacturers. In other words, Spain is an important part of the global automotive industry chain, but it does not have to be completed by domestic car companies.
This characteristic of the Spain automotive market has produced special uses in the new energy era, because in the past three years, a strong new force has emerged in the Spain automotive market, that is, Chinese manufacturers.
As of August 2024, BYD's sales in the Spain market will be 206 units, second only to Tesla and BMW, with a market share of 7.1%; The MG brand also made it into the top five thanks to the MG 4's outstanding performance.
If Volvo is also considered a Chinese brand, there are three Chinese brands in the top five sales of electric cars in Spain in August. Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers have become a powerful force in the Spain automotive market.
An important purpose of Prime Minister Sanchez's visit to China is to promote Chinese new energy manufacturers to invest and set up factories in Spain. Spain currently has 17 automotive factories, 15 technical centers and 10 automotive clusters, but most of them are related to fuel vehicles, so the investment of Chinese new energy manufacturers is crucial, or the transformation of the automotive industry in Spain will be inseparable from the help of Chinese car companies.
As early as 2016, BAIC BJEV has set up an overseas R&D center in Barcelona; In 2022, the Lynk & Co brand set up a branch in Barcelona; In April 2024, Chery Automobile's first car plant in Europe was selected in Catalonia, Spain; In August 2024, Envision Power's Spain battery gigafactory started construction and is expected to be completed in 2026.
Unlike China, Germany and other major automobile countries, Spain does not care too much about "independent brands" and does not pay much attention to "technological innovation", they hope to become an automobile production base, and then integrate into the global new energy vehicle industry chain.
Spain is located in southern Europe, which is conveniently located; It is relatively stable politically and policy-wise, and is less disturbed by external factors; The automobile industry has a strong foundation and has the basic conditions for the development of new energy vehicles; The local people have a strong concept of environmental protection and a high degree of recognition of electric vehicles. Therefore, many Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers choose Spain as a springboard to enter Europe.
At present, the new energy vehicle market in Spain is still in the early stage of development, and it is unlikely to cultivate a large local new energy brand, nor is it likely to become a highland of global new energy core technology, but as a "transit station" between China and the European new energy vehicle industry, its prospects are still quite good.
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