Hybrid and electric cars remain a minority in Spain

We are not in the mood for new cars at the moment, and even less for hybrid or electric cars with their price premiums. This has been shown by the sales figures for recent months, up to April, when, although there were some increases in percentage terms, the numbers remain very low.

Electric vehicles managed to sell 22 units last month, a figure that brings an ironic smile to our faces, yet it still represents a considerable increase of 83.3% compared with last year. Oddly enough, hybrid vehicles have been the ones that have fallen the most if we look at the April figures.

With 744 registrations, hybrids are down 31.2% compared with April 2011, which is somewhat surprising given that hybrids were the ones that had gained the most ground among alternative-fuel segments. Perhaps these sales have been affected by the price premiums a hybrid must bear in our country, as well as the general crisis affecting the sector.

Another striking fact is that practically half of all registrations of these vehicles are concentrated in the Madrid area; in the case of electric cars, 11 units were registered in Madrid, 5 in Catalonia, and the rest are spread across just five other autonomous communities.

In the rest of Spain, not a single electric car has been sold, so once again we wonder why the aid fund for purchasing these hardly representative electric cars has not been used as part of some new scrappage scheme.

Source | Expansion