Sánchez: "Spain has shown willingness and ability to be at the forefront of the transition to sustainable mobility"

Casa de América, Madrid

Pedro Sánchez said that Spain "has shown that it wants to and can be at the forefront" in the transition to sustainable mobility thanks to its "robust" industry, its financing tools and the "environmental conviction" of the policies deployed over the last five years.

The president's words were part of his speech at the closing of the IV edition of the ANFAC Forum- also attended by the Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu- which addressed the challenges facing the automotive industry in our country.

Pedro Sánchez pointed out that one of the best levers to achieve the goal of reindustrialising Spain in a green and digital key is to move towards climate neutrality", with zero-emission mobility being "vital" to achieve this.

To this end, he explained that the government is working along three main lines: public-private collaboration, support for the acquisition of electrified vehicles and the adaptation of the regulatory framework.

Regarding public-private collaboration, he recalled that the PERTE electric and connected vehicle was the first strategic project approved for allocation of Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan NextGenerationEU funds, and that all the funds initially planned have been mobilised: more than €2.28 billion have been granted for more than 700 projects and 550 companies, located in all the autonomous communities.

PERTE VEC II: 10 new projects worth €170 million

The second call of the PERTE VEC, focused on the reindustrialisation and electrification of production plants, involves the mobilisation of €6 billion of investment in its two sections: the production of batteries and the promotion of the industrial value chain of the electric and connected vehicle. Thanks to this support, important projects have been promoted such as the giga battery factory in Extremadura, which is added to the one already awarded in the first PERTE call in the Valencian Community, and aid for the Ford, Renault, Seat and Stellantis plants and other innovative projects in the Basque Country and Navarre.

The second section, relating to the promotion of the industrial value chain of electric and connected vehicles, will involve the additional injection of €787 million to support the sector. Pedro Sánchez announced that the commission that has evaluated a first batch of 10 projects worth €170 million in public aid, and which will mobilise industrial investment of around €500 million, has met today.

Throughout 2024, the deployment will be completed with the remaining calls; the third in the coming months and the fourth in the last quarter, with more than €1.25 billion from the second phase of the Recovery Plan.

As the President of the Government pointed out, all the resources of the PERTE VEC will thereby have been channelled as a strategic tool for an industry that represents 8% of Spanish GDP, generates 9% of employment and dedicates 87% of production to exports.

The chief executive also referred to the area of innovation in the electric mobility model, for which more than €313 million is available under the Moves Singulares programme for 261 innovative electric mobility projects.

Strengthening of the support programme for the purchase of electrified vehicles

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his speech at the closing act of the IV edition of the Forum of the Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers (ANFAC) | Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo

With regard to support for the purchase of electric vehicles, Pedro Sánchez detailed that the Moves II programme has already allocated nearly €1 billion to the autonomous communities to provide incentives for the purchase of this type of vehicle. To this will be added a further €24 million from the Moves Fleets programme to support 54 projects for the transformation of large vehicle fleets.

Pedro Sánchez highlighted that this line facilitated a 50% increase in electrified vehicle registrations by 2023, representing 12% of the total number of vehicles. In addition, Spanish plants are already manufacturing 42 models of electrified cars and there are already more than 30,000 public access charging points, 40.7% more than in 2022.

"There is still a long way to go, especially in an environment marked by stiff competition at both European and global levels. The coming years will be decisive to consolidate this sector, to keep Europe in a leading position and to achieve the objectives of decarbonisation of transport", he emphasised. To this effect, he said that "efforts will be redoubled" in the coming weeks in collaboration with the sector to improve, reinforce and speed up the support programme for the purchase of electrified vehicles and the installation of charging points.

Sustainable Mobility Law: opportunities for the future

The President of the Government also wanted to refer to the adaptation of the regulatory framework, following the approval last week in the Council of Ministers of the draft bill on Sustainable Mobility. He stressed that the bill includes the recognition of mobility as a social right, the commitment to decarbonisation, the digitalisation of the transport system and support for innovation and improvement in the quality of investment decisions.

"We have all the necessary tools to turn the challenges of this industry into great opportunities for the present and future of Europe and Spain", said Pedro Sánchez, who stressed that Spain also has "clean, abundant and cheap energy", which is a "great competitive advantage" for Spanish industry. He went on to highlight the human capital with available training, which will increase thanks to the system of professional accreditations and the promotion of vocational training, together with the strengthening of the science and innovation ecosystem and the Recovery Plan's NextGenerationEU funds.

In view of the shocks experienced by the automotive industry in recent years due to the pandemic, the disruption of supply chains and the transition to a zero-emission mobility model, the Government's president wanted to recognise the "enormous effort" of the sector to adapt.

"We will continue to be at your side to make Spain the great electromobility hub of southern Europe. The Government of Spain is going to do everything in its power to continue moving towards the goal of electrifying our economy and making the automotive sector one of the main references in the present and future of the Spanish economy", concluded Pedro Sánchez, envisioning an "extraordinary opportunity for the prosperity of Spain, employment, companies and the future of the industry" with the strengthening of public-private collaboration.

Non official translation