Perspective on Spain's new energy vehicle industry: China-Europe transit station, Chinese manufacturers will play an important role

A real-life video from 1943 was once widely circulated on the Chinese Internet. The video showed that in Spain at that time, battery replacement for electric vehicles was already very common, and the speed was no less than that of the current battery replacement for NIO cars.

In 1943, Spain was a major European economy, with a much higher global status than it does today. Its automobile industry also had a certain influence in the world, standing at the forefront of the electric vehicle market at the time. To this day, the Spanish automobile industry still has a certain position in the world.

Not long ago, Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez visited China and had in-depth exchanges with senior executives of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The main purpose was to attract Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers to invest in Spain.

The fact that such a move can be taken first proves that Spain's new energy vehicle industry has a certain foundation; secondly, it shows that its relevant industrial policies have a certain degree of continuity and are less affected by off-market factors.

What is the current level of Spain, a long-established automobile powerhouse, in the new energy vehicle industry?

Let's take a look at sales first. Data shows that in 2023, the sales of pure electric vehicles in Spain reached 51,614 units, a year-on-year increase of 69.1%, but the overall penetration rate was only 5.44%, an increase of less than two percentage points compared with 2022.

At the same time, Spain's sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles reached 62,162 units in 2023. If this is also taken into account, Spain's new energy vehicle penetration rate can reach 12%, while the European market average is 21%.

According to forecasts by local Spanish agencies, their sales of new energy vehicles are expected to reach 280,000 this year, more than double that of 2023. But now it seems that this forecast may not be realized, because from January to August, Spain's electric vehicle sales were 32,596, a year-on-year decrease of 0.7%.

The sales of pure electric vehicles are under pressure, which may be related to the lack of local infrastructure. In 2023, there will be 30,345 public charging points in Spain, but a large part of them are level 1 and level 2 charging piles (voltage below 240V), which is equivalent to "slow charging" in China. The number of level 3 charging piles using DC fast charging is relatively small, and they are mainly used in special sections such as highway service areas.

It is worth mentioning that Spain lags behind China in charging technology. A charging power of 120kW is defined as "ultra-fast charging", while China's supercharging piles have a maximum charging power of up to 600kW.

In terms of new energy industry policies, Spain is relatively stable. It has currently formulated the MOVES 3 plan to provide direct subsidies for new energy vehicles, with individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises receiving subsidies of up to 9,000 euros. The total budget of the plan is 400 to 800 million euros.

In addition, the Spanish government also provides a subsidy policy for old-for-new vehicles similar to that of China, and users who scrap their old cars can receive subsidies when purchasing electric vehicles.

According to Spain's "Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030", by 2030, they will achieve the deployment of 5 million electric vehicles and build 500,000 charging stations.

Let's look at specific car companies. Spain is the second largest automobile producer in Europe. In 2023, the total vehicle production reached 2.45 million units, surpassing Italy and France, but the local market is relatively small, and 87% of sales are exported. The largest local brand is SEAT, but it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen in 1990.

This reality determines that Spain is unlikely to produce a large-scale new energy vehicle brand, and it is more suitable to be a production base for major automobile manufacturers. In other words, Spain is an important link in the global automobile industry chain, but it does not necessarily have to be completed by domestic automobile companies.

This feature of the Spanish automobile market has special use in the new energy era, because in the past three years, a powerful new force has emerged in the Spanish automobile market, that is, Chinese manufacturers.

As of August 2024, BYD's sales in the Spanish market reached 206 vehicles, second only to Tesla and BMW, with a market share of 7.1%; the MG brand also entered the top five thanks to the outstanding performance of MG 4.

If Volvo is also considered a Chinese brand, three of the top five Spanish electric car sales in August are Chinese brands. Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers have become a powerful force in the Spanish auto market.

One of the important purposes of Prime Minister Sanchez's visit to China is to promote Chinese new energy manufacturers to invest and set up factories in Spain. Spain currently has 17 automobile factories, 15 technical centers and 10 automobile industry clusters, but most of them are related to fuel vehicles. Therefore, the investment of Chinese new energy manufacturers is crucial, or in other words, the transformation of the Spanish automobile industry will not be possible without the help of Chinese auto companies.

As early as 2016, BAIC New Energy had established an overseas R&D center in Barcelona; in 2022, the Lynk & Co brand established a branch in Barcelona; in April 2024, Chery Automobile selected Catalonia, Spain for its first automobile factory in Europe; in August 2024, the construction of the Envision Power Spanish battery super factory started, and it is expected to be completed in 2026.

Unlike major automobile countries such as China and Germany, Spain does not care too much about "independent brands" or "technological innovation". They would rather become an automobile production base and then integrate into the global new energy vehicle industry chain.

Spain is located in southern Europe, with geographical advantages; it is relatively stable in politics and policies, and is less affected by external factors; it has a strong automobile industry foundation and has the basic conditions for developing new energy vehicles; the local people have a strong sense of environmental protection and are more accepting of electric vehicles. Therefore, many Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers choose Spain as a springboard to enter Europe.

At present, the Spanish new energy vehicle market is still in the early stages of development. It is unlikely to cultivate large-scale local new energy brands, nor is it likely to become a highland of global new energy core technologies. However, as a "transit station" between the new energy vehicle industries of China and Europe, its prospects are still quite good.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.