Sector's insights

Electric vehicles: opportunity, need and challenges

12 de April de 2022

With the prolonged increase in the price of fossil fuels and the urgent need for a paradigm shift in mobility, electric vehicles, through public-private partnerships, look to be the key to the economy of the future.

Need

Filling up the tank in Spain is 50% more expensive today than it was a year ago. The situation is similar across Europe, where governments have implemented tax rebates and subsidies to compensate for international increases that stifle private consumers and professionals in all sectors.

The high energy dependence on other continents means that any political and social instability has a direct impact on practically all services and products, pushing inflation to exorbitant peaks not seen since 1985.

This is why a commitment to sustainable forms of transport is not only a climate emergency in itself, but also offers an alternative to the current global consumption model. The transport of people and goods is what drives the economy of any country. If we fail to make it sustainable, dependence on fossil fuels will eventually choke all industries.

There is still a long way to go, and the market share of electric vehicles is only 4%. Although their sales have doubled compared to 2021, it is still not representative enough for the change that is needed.

Challenges

The automotive industry is experiencing a perfect storm. On the one hand, the chip and semiconductor crisis has highlighted the total dependence on the Asian giant, which determines when and how it manufactures and whether or not it supplies the rest of the countries. For this reason, the idea of relocating this industry to Europe is gaining momentum, channelled through European recovery funds. In Spain alone, projects with a PERTE of 11 billion euros will be promoted, in line with the European objective for the EU to manufacture 20% of chips by 2023.

The other main problem facing the electric vehicle industry is batteries, autonomy and recharging points. Elements that are not yet at a point of economy of scale and which make the price of the vehicle less competitive with combustion vehicles.

The battery, the cornerstone of this crossroads, is looking for solutions to its duration and autonomy. They currently withstand 3,000 full charge cycles, which translates into 8-10 years of useful life, an uncompetitive time span which, together with a low range of 400 km on average, means that the 1,000 km offered by some diesel cars are more often than not a major reason to opt for a diesel or petrol car.

The professionalisation of private companies in this type of mobility and support from public entities for manufacturers and individual buyers is vital for the consolidation of electric vehicles at a time that is as timely as it is necessary.