Spain's ruling left-wing coalition plans to use a chunk of the 140 billion euros ($166 billion) Spain is set to receive from the European Union's pandemic recovery plan to kickstart its electric car industry.
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to visit Madrid on Wednesday while Spain awaits the approval of its plan by Brussels. She will meet with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has compared the EU Next Generation funds to a "new Marshall Plan."
Spain's Secretary of State for Industry Raül Blanco told The Associated Press that the government is aiming at spending around 5 billion euros ($6 billion) over the next three years on its electric vehicle initiative.
Spain produced 2.2 million cars and trucks in 2020, second only to Germany in Europe. But only 140,000 of these were electric or hybrids, according to ANFAC, the Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers.
A leader in highspeed electric trains, Spain wants to put 250,000 more electric vehicles on its roads within two years, adding to the current 96,000.
The push for electric cars should reduce CO2 emissions by 450,000 tons, according to government projections as Spain aims to completely convert to renewable energy by 2050, in line with EU targets.
