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Inflation and fear of LEZs boost sales of cars with the ECO label

The enormous increase in the price of new cars in the last five years (up to 60% in some cases) and the fear of the implementation of low emission zones (ZBE) in the main cities of Spain, among other reasons, have made that the sales of passenger cars with the ECO label (conventional hybrids, microhybrids and gas) will skyrocket.

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Inflation and fear of LEZs boost sales of cars with the ECO label

The enormous increase in the price of new cars in the last five years (up to 60% in some cases) and the fear of the implementation of low emission zones (ZBE) in the main cities of Spain, among other reasons, have made that the sales of passenger cars with the ECO label (conventional hybrids, microhybrids and gas) will skyrocket. These are much cheaper than electric cars and plug-in hybrids, although they cannot benefit from public aid plans such as Moves III, and the ECO label has practically the same advantages as ZERO Emissions.

In the first two months of 2023, 47,826 new passenger cars with the ECO label have been registered, including non-plug-in hybrids, light hybrids and gas cars, 45% more than in the same period of the previous year. This means that 34.1% of the cars registered so far this year (one in three) have the ECO label, according to data from the associations of manufacturers (Anfac), sellers (Ganvam) and dealers (Faconauto). . The market share has risen three percentage points compared to the same period in 2022.

The increase in sales of this type of vehicle contrasts with the stagnation of electrified passenger cars (electric and plug-in hybrids), which are subsidized with public purchase aid. Up to February, 15,170 cars with the ZERO label have been sold (6,250 electric and 8,920 plug-in hybrids), 25% more than last year, but they only represent 11% of total sales. The market share is practically the same as a year ago: 10.82% in the first two months of 2022 with a quarter less sales volume (11,304 units).

The alternative technology most in demand in Spain is the non-plug-in hybrid (HEV), which is cheaper than other electrical technologies because it does not need large batteries and, in addition, it is easier to use because it does not require cables nor does it depend on the charging infrastructure.

Hybrid car sales have skyrocketed 43% up to February and already represent 27% of total registrations, according to industry associations. However, it should be remembered that this group also includes all vehicles with light hybridization (so-called 'Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicles' or MHEV for its acronym in English).

Micro-hybrids or light hybrids represent more than half of the sales of hybrid cars in Spain and have the great advantage of receiving the DGT ECO label, although they do not have an electric motor, but the gasoline (or diesel) engine receives the help of a 48V starter/generator. This means that, in most cases, the electrical system cannot move the car on its own and barely reduces average consumption and polluting emissions by a few tenths.

Gas cars are the ones that have grown the most in the first two months of the year, mainly those that use liquefied petroleum gas, also known as LPG or autogas. Due to the fact that they also have the ECO label and that LPG is up to 60% cheaper than gasoline and diesel, sales of these types of vehicles with a bifuel engine (they also have a gasoline tank) have skyrocketed by 88 % in the first two months of the year. Although its market share is small (2.36%), 3,882 LPG cars have already been sold up to February.

The best-selling hybrid cars in Spain between January and February are the Toyota C-HR, the Toyota Corolla and the Fiat 500 (microhybrid in the case of the Italian urban), while the best-selling gas cars are the Dacia Sandero, the Dacia Jogger and Dacia Duster (all LPG).

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