Alfonso Martínez Baños, regional deputy and president of the PSOE in the Region of Murcia, asserts that Fernando López Miras, President of the Region of Murcia, has been withholding the subsidies from the Plan Moves since 2021.
Furthermore, he contends that in this way, the president of the Region of Murcia since 2017 “is demonstrating his complete lack of interest in promoting the use of electric cars.”
“Only 11 out of nearly 3,000 subsidy applications have received the 7,000-euro grant for purchasing an electric vehicle,” he insists.
As detailed by Martínez Baños, the allocated amount for the Autonomous Community has been over 20 million euros.
Therefore, the Socialist Parliamentary Group has requested the appearance of the Minister of Finance in the Regional Assembly to explain the reason behind “so much incompetence.”
While the subsidies for the third edition can be applied for until December 31, 2023, to date, 2,225 applications have been submitted.
Out of these, only 166 grants have been awarded, totaling 733,800 euros.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Enterprises has disbursed 11 out of the 166 grants, amounting to 67,000 euros, and reports that another 22 are ready for disbursement, worth 102,900 euros.
In this context, the deputy states:
“We are aware of the numerous complaints from hundreds of citizens who bought an electric car with the expectation of promptly receiving that assistance.”
Furthermore, he highlights that Murcia lags behind other regions in Spain in the management of the Plan Moves.
However, the Ministry points out that delays in the subsidy call result from the modifications implemented by the Government in the procedures and conditions imposed on applicants.
While in other autonomous communities, they have completely exhausted their funds and received additional assistance.
Nevertheless, the registration figures for electric vehicles in the Region of Murcia show annual growth.
According to the latest report published by the Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers (ANFAC), from January to August, sales of electrified vehicles increased by 39.24% compared to the same period in 2022.
As for hybrids, the growth was 22.32%.
However, vehicles powered by polluting gases saw an increase of 67.84%.
In August alone, the increase was 73.91% compared to the same month the previous year.
This indicates a preference among residents of Murcia for traditional propulsion vehicles.
What solutions does the sector offer to the Plan Moves?
Since community registrations were initiated in April 2021, some took six months to enable the procedures to activate the subsidy.
Likewise, the disbursement of the grants experienced delays ranging from six months to a year to materialize.
The high prices of zero-emission and low-emission models also serve as a hindrance to such government programs.
Currently, more than £30,000 is required to purchase a Zero-rated car.
Therefore, in order to address these issues, various sector associations suggest centralizing the Plan Moves at the national level.
Furthermore, they propose implementing a direct purchase discount through a reduction in VAT.
This measure would streamline administrative procedures and ensure that subsidies are applied immediately at the time of purchase.
The third edition of the program concludes on December 31, and there is still no information provided about its future.
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