José Antonio León Capitán, Director of Communication and Institutional Relations at Stellantis Iberia, discussed the situation of electric vehicles in Spain with the Intereconomía portal. Currently, only 5 percent of sales are represented by pure electric vehicles in Spain, rising to 10 percent when including plug-in hybrids. León emphasized that to increase sales and adoption of electric vehicles, it is essential that customers can “be certain they can charge their car during long trips.”
He also highlighted that charging infrastructure is insufficient and that range remains one of the main barriers. An example could be the Fiat 500e, which recorded 439 sales in the US in 2024, mainly due to its high price, around $35,000, and too low range, about 200 km for the entry-level model.
Stellantis: the main problem with the group’s EVs is low range and high price
“Another problem hindering access to electric cars is the price,” he added. In this regard, Stellantis points to countries like France or Portugal with plans that directly address car prices. “In Spain, the MOVES plan doesn’t work well because the customer doesn’t receive the money directly.”
The Communication Director of Stellantis Iberia explained that the automotive sector is in a phase of profound transformation, currently facing both short and long-term challenges. The need for decarbonization and sales electrification is driving Stellantis’ entire strategy. To meet sustainability goals set by Europe, Stellantis has had to make substantial investments in technology.
The Stellantis executive also added that the European market “isn’t performing as we would like due to uncertainty and because customers are somewhat lost as they receive different and sometimes contradictory messages about electric vehicles. This leads customers to delay purchasing decisions because they don’t know what to do, the car fleet isn’t being renewed, and more polluting and less safe cars continue to circulate.”
The situation for Stellantis is not expected to improve much even in the United States, where Donald Trump‘s election could further slow down electric car sales. For this reason, Dodge has brought forward the debut of the Charger Daytona with a combustion engine.