Historic July: 25,974 plug-in cars sold in Spain

Historic July for electric cars: 25,974 plug-in units

The 25,974 plug-in passenger cars registered in July smell of a changing cycle. In a traditionally weak month, with holidays emptying dealerships, the figures broke seasonal patterns: 11,067 pure electric and 14,902 plug-in hybrids. The year-to-date total through July points to a record year, and private buyers have made it clear that diesel is not in their plans.

Private buyers turn their backs on diesel

A look at the disaggregated data shows that the person who decides at the dealership, the private customer, wants nothing to do with diesel. While corporate fleets still carry some diesel inertia, private demand is focused on the power grid. Those with a home charging point switch to electric without hesitation: fuel costs are ridiculously lower, and that advantage weighs more than any ideological debate about environmentalism.

China, the mirror Spain does not look into

The infrastructure debate is not new, but it takes on another dimension when entire fleets are compared. In China, nearly 50% of taxis are electric, and in large cities the percentage exceeds 77%, approaching 100%. The contrast with Spain's rollout of charging points is stark: here the electric car gets bought, but the public network remains a bottleneck. The figure does not invalidate July's boom; it puts it in perspective. While in Madrid or Barcelona parking next to a fast-charging point can be an odyssey, in Chinese cities fast charging is integrated into the urban landscape.

And yet, July's numbers fall short compared to China: there, the electric taxi fleet is already the majority. Here the debate still revolves around whether there are enough charging posts to justify the purchase. For those living with an outlet in their garage, the math is simple: the annual fuel savings make the decision a formality. For everyone else, the wait is for the network.