The transport sector faces an uncertain outlook following the closure of the Moves MITMA programme in April 2024, the line of subsidies that financed the purchase of approximately 1,535 eBuses and 688 eTrucks.
Demand far exceeded available resources.
According to the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, the programme received 12,000 applications for an amount of 627 million euros, more than 56% more than the initially planned budget .
Although the Spanish government decided to increase funding to cover pending applications in June, the sector is still waiting for new lines of support.
The possibility of new incentives is not expected until 2026, a fact that could jeopardize Spain’s climate commitments.
In this context, Jaime Rodríguez, Director of CONFEBUS, tells Mobility Portal España: “Sustainability is not an option, it is a legal obligation.”
What does this refer to?
The European Union (EU) has set strict targets to reduce CO2 emissions from heavy vehicles.
According to the Regulation, urban buses must be 90% zero-emission by 2030 and 100% by 2035.
It is also required that 45% of vehicles tendered between 2021 and 2025 use alternative technologies, such as electric ones, a percentage that will increase to 65% between 2026 and 2030.
“This payment for emission rights is made indirectly through the purchase of fuel,” says Rodríguez.
He explains that, through the inclusion of road transport in the EU emissions trading system, approximately 65 billion euros are generated.
These funds will be distributed among Member States with the aim of developing national climate action plans.
These strategies include a series of measures aimed at financing various initiatives related to sustainability and energy transition.
“Spain will receive approximately 8.5 billion euros between 2026 and 2032, from the European contribution and the corresponding national contribution,” explains the Director of CONFEBUS.
This is stipulated in Regulation (EU) 2023/955, which establishes the Social Climate Fund.
These resources could be used for a new line of aid to encourage the acquisition of more sustainable vehicles, but we would have to wait until 2026 to obtain them.
However, Rodríguez points out: “The aid planned for 2026 will be subject to the decision taken by Spain, together with the rest of the EU countries, within the framework of their respective national plans.”
This refers to the fact that the EU does not impose an obligation to finance the purchase of buses, but that it is up to each country to decide which aid programmes the resources they receive will be allocated to.
These plans must be aimed, to a certain extent, at decarbonising the activities of the sectors included in the new emissions trading system.
“The logical thing would be to establish some kind of aid program before the 2026 funds arrive,” says Rodríguez.
And he emphasizes: “We require that one of these lines be a plan to finance the purchase of new , more efficient and sustainable buses.”
Background of the MITMA Moves Plan
At the end of May, the Business Association for the Development and Promotion of Electric Mobility (AEDIVE) told Mobility Portal España that the Ministry had expressed its intention to launch a new program “as soon as possible.”
“We have met with the Ministry of Transport and the aim is to launch a new plan that improves the conditions of the previous one as much as possible,” they said.
Likewise, the Secretary of State for Transport and Sustainable Mobility, José Antonio Santano, had announced during his speech at the New Economy Forum that the Government intended to renew the Moves MITMA.
However, there is no news at the moment, except for the 50 million euro increase to cover pending requests that could not be attended to due to lack of funds.
This new budget came from the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda and not from the European NextGenerationEU funds.
