During the event “Investments and new eMobility projects in Spain,” Adriano Mones Bayo, CharIn Ambassador, anticipated that the launch of the Plan Moves is scheduled for the second half of this year, “provided certain conditions are met.”
So far, it had not been revealed what was delaying the announcement of the highly anticipated fourth edition of the programme, which ends on 31st July.
Recently, a source close to the industry confirmed to Mobility Portal España that “there are difficulties with the Ministry of Hacienda.”
For the fourth call, certain modifications in aid are expected, such as the possibility of making it direct, with a deduction at the time of purchasing the electric vehicle.
Additionally, to streamline procedures for the deployment of charging infrastructure, especially fast and ultra-fast charging, which often takes months to be enabled.
It is expected to consider, among other aspects, elements that increase its amount for lower-income groups, as well as the automation and streamlining of administrative procedures.
It is also suggested to create specific aid lines and complement it with a tax shock plan that includes improvements in VAT, corporation tax, and registration tax.
One of the main requests is for the grant not to be subject to income tax, something Hacienda has not yet commented on.
According to industry expert Ricard Puiggròs, “bells are now ringing for a possible change.”
Moreover, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, highlighted at the IV ANFAC Forum: “In the coming weeks, we will review Plan Moves III in collaboration with the sector.”
In this regard, he assured that they will redouble efforts, both in supporting aid plans and in boosting charging infrastructure.
“It is important to recognise the great effort of the sector in this new transformation, and from the Government, we will be by its side to make Spain a major hub for electromobility,” he indicated.
Any possible change must be approved by the Ministry of Hacienda, currently under the responsibility of Spain’s Vice President, María Jesús Montero.
It is worth mentioning that to date, only about 57 per cent of the budget available for Plan Moves III has been resolved, which amounts to around 556.9 million euros out of the 978.7 million euros allocated.
Within this framework, around 140 million euros still remains to be allocated.
At the moment, neither Hacienda nor the Ministry of Ecological Transition, responsible for managing the delivery to the autonomous communities, have made comments on possible changes to the subsidy programme.
What would happen if Moves does not continue?
During the tenth edition of the Economic Forum organised by Volkswagen, Francisco Pérez Botello, President of VW Group Spain Distribution, warned that withdrawing economic incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles could lead to a drop in sales.
This has already been observed in the German market, where after the abrupt removal of the environmental bonus last December, registrations began to decline significantly.
Botello stated that if there is no incentive plan in Spain, the commercialisation of zero and low-emission cars “will collapse.”
“In this line, I can say that the conversations with the Government are being fruitful, and we hope to have a stable tax framework,” he maintained.
Car manufacturers, in addition to the change in Moves III, have presented the government with a comprehensive proposal to reform car taxation, which includes the removal of VAT for electric cars.
Although the industry has also expressed urgency for the continuity of the Plan, especially in a context where the sales of electrified vehicles have slowed down in the last month.
According to the latest registration data published by the Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers (ANFAC), sales of these have reduced by 9.1 per cent in March, reaching 10,633 units.
This has led to the market share of these cars being reduced to 9.5 per cent of the total for the month.
So far this year, the sales of electrified vehicles represent 10 per cent of the market, the same figure as a year ago, with a total of 29,263 registrations.
This indicates that although sales of zero and low-emission cars continue to increase positively, the growth rate is now very slight.
