The government hands out one billion for electrified cars, and the sector’s verdict is: “They didn’t work.”

Pedro Sanchez He arrived at the Linares Palace on Tuesday for his first public event outside Moncloa since the Galician election collapse, without showing his usual energy. It was at the IV Forum of the Automobile Association Anfak and he was cordially – “my Dear Wayne” – with the President, Wayne Griffithsand his managers, but he avoided talking about politics even in private with them before his speech.

According to knowledgeable sources, he focused on talking about the automobile sector, not allowing himself or the minister to do so. Jordi Hereu this did not accompany him with any comment on the position of greater weakness into which he fell after Galicia.

The lack of energy was also noticeable in public, as he failed to make any major announcements other than that he intended to “redouble efforts in the coming weeks” – a phrase that Griffiths himself and most of those present had already heard at the conference. In recent years.

Although Sanchez agreed to close the forum, perhaps hoping to soften criticism, neither Anfac’s president nor the CEO Jose Lopez-Tafall, they refrained from their previous speeches, presenting the Moves plan, with which the government is trying to promote the electric car in Spain, as almost fruitless.

On the one hand, Sánchez boasted that Moves II “has already allocated about 1 billion euros to autonomous communities to stimulate the acquisition of vehicles of this type.” On the other hand, Lopez-Tafall was categorical: “The plan didn’t work.” Taxpayers deserve a serious assessment of the effectiveness of this billion and the rest of the spending under the Move Plan.

The CEO of Anfac presented the audience with several slides with such data that it seems miraculous that Spain can still continue to be the second European car manufacturer. “We’re falling behind”, headlined one of them, in which one can see Portugal with a market share of electrified vehicles of 31%, France with 26%, Germany with 24.6% and the EU with 22.3% on average. And Spain? Almost half from 12%. Of course, it outperforms the other laggard in this regard, Italy (8.6%), but with the notable difference that the Spanish government is a European environmentalist.

“If we don’t act, the park will continue to age.” was the headline of another in which it could be seen that the average age of cars circulating in Spain is now 14.5 years, compared to 13.5 years in the year of the pandemic. President of Faconauto, Marta Blazquezattributed this failure to the fact that policies are developed without taking into account the needs and perceptions of the consumer.

Do? Lopez-Tafall listed recipes that are a “360-degree change” from current measures. He called for a complete overhaul of the Relocation Plan to ensure assistance is direct and therefore instills confidence among buyers. He also called for pre-existing tax breaks for companies and the vehicle rental sector, which could drive fleet renewal. They exist in other countries, he noted.

He called for a network of charging infrastructure, coordinated by a new government body, so that electric car buyers don’t have to worry about running out of battery. And finally, the eternal challenge: “Give priority to industry.” What about European funds? Sanchez said there will be two more Perths in 2024 (after failures in the first two) .

The PSOE leader did not hide his “differences” with Anfak, but pronounced another hymn to “public-private cooperation.” “We’ll do what we can, dear Wayne.”