These are Arval's forecasts for Spanish mobility

Arval presented its forecasts on how Spanish mobility will evolve in the coming years in its “Mobility Observatory”.

Arval has presented its “Mobility Observatory”, a study on the future of mobility, in which it unveiled some surprising figures that make it easy to get an idea of where mobility and the automotive sector are heading. In this study we have been able to see the forecasts for both the corporate and private channels, so without keeping you waiting any longer, here are the conclusions:

According to the data collected, Spanish companies have already started to take action to reduce emission levels in their vehicle fleets. 55% of them say they have already taken measures to achieve this goal. This figure is genuinely encouraging for our country, since it is 5 points above the European average.

Reducing pollution is a key goal for companies

Interestingly, companies have focused on reducing CO2 emissions in their vehicle fleets, although they also show interest in doing the same with NOx (nitrogen oxide), a gas that is difficult to measure. Currently, fleet managers lean towards petrol vehicles rather than diesel because of the unfounded belief that they pollute less. For this reason, it is estimated that by 2022 53% of fleet vehicles will be diesel, which would mean a 32% reduction from the current rate, which is no less than 85%.

The WLTP has revolutionised the sector since it was introduced last summer. Companies have not escaped the impact of the new emissions cycle: 13% say they have felt its impact on their fleet policy. To offset it, the measures taken have involved replacing the brands and models they previously offered with others that have lower emissions.

Companies are modernising the way they view mobility

One clear fact is that renting is thriving in Spain and is becoming the leading option in Europe. Spanish companies rank first when it comes to choosing renting as a financing method for their vehicle fleets. Furthermore, renting is expected to continue on this highly successful path in the coming years. If you don’t know why this is the case, we give you the keys to renting and leasing.

Sharing is also an option well worth considering for large companies. Sharing a vehicle for journeys is an alternative that already features in the plans of 22% of large companies.

In addition, fleets are now far more connected than before. Currently, 27% of Spanish companies have adopted some tools to connect their fleets. The main reasons for doing so are knowing the location of the vehicles, increasing safety, optimising journeys or reducing costs.

What is clear is that road safety is a priority for Spanish companies. For this reason, more and more companies are making sure to acquire cars with more complete safety systems.

Registrations are positive, although the vehicle fleet is ageing

However, registrations have grown more among companies than among private buyers. Although the figure is positive in both cases, private registrations have risen by 3.8% and company registrations by 13.2%. Moreover, future forecasts continue to point to the current trend.

On the other hand, a worrying fact is that the average age of the national vehicle fleet is clearly rising. Cars more than ten years old already make up 62% of those on our roads, while another 13% are over seven years old. Renting is where we find a more modern fleet, with 53% of cars less than two years old and 82% not exceeding four years of use.

In addition, nearly 70% of the vehicles circulating in Spain carry a B environmental label or have none at all. This means that only 3 in 10 cars carry a C, ECO or ZERO label. Although the figure is negative, is it true that cars with ECO and ZERO labels pollute less?

It should also be said that the demonisation of diesel has caused its sales to fall by 11%. Petrol-powered vehicles have benefited from this, with sales up 9%. Despite this, the Spanish vehicle fleet still has 64.7% diesel vehicles and 34% petrol vehicles.