The adoption of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) will accelerate next year, reaching 10% of all registrations, according to data provided today at the 7th Barcelona Automotive Conference, jointly organised by ESADE Alumni and the Faconauto and Fecavem dealer associations.

Some 200 industry professionals attended the conference held at ESADE, which analysed the potential impact for dealers of both the arrival of AFVs (electric and various electric/natural gas hybrids) and new car acquisition and ownership models.

This year, AFV registrations already account for 7% of the total, in a market that will close at 1.3 million units. By 2019, with a virtually flat total market, that share will grow to 10%. Natural gas-powered hybrids, which will grow at a rate of 96%, to 27,000 units, and hybrids (petrol/electric), which will account for more than 81,000 registrations, are expected to show particularly strong growth. In contrast, pure electric vehicles will grow at a rate of only 7%, accounting for some 5,000 units. 

Thus, both Faconauto and Fecavem stressed that ‘alternative fuel vehicle sales will start to be noteworthy next year, but they would be even more remarkable if there were strong government support for their purchase or the expansion of the necessary infrastructure, as we are seeing in the countries around us’.

In this regard, both associations believe that cars should be viewed as an ally in the decarbonisation of the mobility model, which will require stronger support for AFVs, but also replacing older cars still in circulation.

‘The industry agrees with the need for sustainable mobility, but when the issue is addressed, we only seem to focus on the type and emissions of vehicles that will be manufactured in future. If we want to make progress on that shared goal, we also have to encourage the sustained, ambitious and large-scale retirement of older cars. The new government seems to share this view’, said the president of Faconauto, Gerardo Pérez, at the conference.

Ownership models

It was also noted that new vehicle acquisition and ownership models ‘could play an important role in the energy transition and in renewing the fleet and, thus, must also be taken into account in future environmental policies’.

In this regard, throughout the conference, it was agreed that dealers are not immune to these changes. On the contrary, they are positioning themselves to offer buyers the full range of options to buy a vehicle. Consequently, the focus of their businesses has expanded to include not only sales, but also the provision of value-added mobility services.

‘Dealers have an important role to play as thought leaders in sustainable mobility. We also have a role to play in trying to make the authorities understand that private vehicles are not part of the problem, but part of the solution. We are the first to support a model of safe, sustainable and efficient automobiles. We have taken on a prominent role in this opportunity, recommending new technologies and alternative fuel vehicles that, as we can see, are poised to become a powerful new reality’, said Fecavem president Jaume Roura.