Controversy The Government parks, for now, the change in the labels of the DGT
A few years ago, it was
that "diesel's days are numbered".
Then, the limitations on access to city centers, the famous labels and the attacks on the car as if it were the only source of contamination.
The result: tremendous confusion when changing cars.
Everything could get worse and it was.
On the one hand, the crisis of chips (and raw materials) has meant that
there are fewer and more expensive cars (7% new and 17.7% used).
Fuel and energy have also skyrocketed,
forcing the accounts to be recalculated.
And the politicians, to their own: aid only to the most elite cars (100% electric and plug-in hybrids) and a ban from 2035 on selling cars with a combustion engine.
Archive image of the Occasion Hall in Madrid
The used alternative
In this context, seasoned by uncertainties in the economy and inflation, buying a car has become an arduous task.
Who does not get a new one, but needs it,
is going to the second-hand market, which more than doubles the registrations.
Although the majority model is still a diesel with more than 15 years.
And whoever can opt for one first-hand, whose average price has already been around 22,000 euros, is not sure which technology is the most worthwhile.
Or if he knows what he doesn't want.
Between January and June, 42.8% of cars sold were gasoline.
Another 17.7%, diesel.
The remaining 39.5%, from alternative drives.
Light and self-recharging hybrids are the most popular, with 115,300 units, 28% of the total.
Gas (LPG or CNG) add another 7,800 registrations and fuel cell were three.
Comparison between technologies
In case you are one of those who still have not decided, here is a summary with the pros and cons of each technology for sale.
We illustrate it with the best-selling model with each of them in 2022, and the price given is the lowest with that engine.
It is a neutral analysis, which each user must adjust to their needs or limitations.
That they are not the same in a big city as in rural Spain, more or less emptied.
Although politicians do not take it into account.
Among those cars is not the Hyundai Tucson, which is the global market leader in Spain and second among light hybrids.
Seat Arona
PETROL
Seat Arona
Price €19,800 Sales: 11,945 units.
The car of all life.
Its two strengths are the great offer available and that, comparatively, they are cheaper than with any other technology.
A modern one, subject to the Euro 6 regulation, pollutes up to 99% less than a similar one that is 15 years old, so they are an excellent step towards reducing the park's emissions.
The Euro 7 that is planned for 2025 will further reduce its pollution levels, although the extra cost that it implies may expel the technology of some small cars.
The rise in fuels works against them, they have a label with hardly any benefits and, like the rest of combustion cars, they
will stop being sold in 2035.
peugeot 3008
DIESEL
Peugeot 3008
Price €30,700 Sales: 3,803 units.
Apart from having been demonized, this technology emits more NOx and particles, which are harmful to health, although without the greenhouse effect.
For those who do many kilometers or use the car as a work tool and are not subject to traffic restrictions, they remain unbeatable due to their lower consumption, since diesel prices are almost on par with gasoline prices.
They have the same environmental cataloging as the latter, but less and less supply as they are expelled from some utility and compact vehicles and from the full range of some brands.
His refuge, the largest cars.
They are also more expensive than gasoline and require more maintenance.
Tesla Model 3
ELECTRICAL
Tesla Model 3
Price €51,990 Sales: 1,587 units
Having a plug at hand and the fact that there are hardly any recharging posts of 150 kWh or more condition its use, especially as a single vehicle and for long trips.
They also cost between 30% and 40% more than an equivalent gasoline without the 7,000 euros of the Moves III.
For this reason, many are the second or third vehicle at home;
or company car.
They have a lower cost of maintenance and use, since even today, recharging a battery of average type (with a range of 250 to 300 km) does not exceed 12 euros at home.
The dynamics is excellent due to silence and performance and all the privileges of the ZERO label are present.
The current offer includes 66 models, with autonomies between 100 km and more than 700.
peugeot 3008
PLUG-IN HYBRID
Peugeot 3008
Price €43,000 Sales: 1,679 units
Its owner will not suffer the so-called 'range anxiety' of an electric, since the main engine is combustion.
To get the most out of them (and spend weeks or months without going to the gas station) you have to continuously recharge the battery, some with almost 100 km of autonomy.
This use would also justify keeping the ZERO label.
On the contrary, if we hardly recharge it, consumption skyrockets - more in large SUVs and sedans
- as they are much heavier and the electrical part is less efficient than in a pure hybrid.
The deployment of technology triggers its prices, which are reduced by up to 5,000 euros with the Moves III.
They also suffer a decrease in the trunk.
There are 93 models for sale.
Toyota Corolla
PURE HYBRIDS
Toyota Corolla
Price: €22,700 Sales: 10,443 units
They are the kings of alternative drives.
They use a combustion engine, plus an electric motor and an additional battery, small in size, but large enough for its energy to move the car on its own.
Not for many miles, but for quite some time
.
In fact, they are quite efficient systems in recovering energy, also through braking, so that in the city they give very low consumption.
On the road, they also contribute, but less because the battery is spent faster than it is later filled.
They always have automatic changes, more effective than a driver in terms of efficiency.
The extra cost can be, at most, about 2,000 euros.
fiat 500
LIGHT HYBRID
Fiat 500
Price €17,000 Sales: 6,715 units
This technology is a mixed bag where they go from utilities to large SUVs.
And it is that the addition of an additional electrical architecture, normally backed by a 48-volt battery, is enough
to get the ECO label, apart from spending and polluting less (at most, 10% vs a combustion model without that contribution) .
It is a relatively cheap solution (less than 1,000 euros on average) and requires less space than other hybrids.
However, unlike these, only a specific car can be moved with the extra electricity: in the rest, it either supports the combustion engine or assumes the expense of certain equipment.
Dacia Sandero
LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas)
Dacia Sandero
Price €12,490 Sales: 3,969 units.
They are bifuel cars (gasoline and LPG) while the cost of the (special) tanks that gas requires and that makes it impossible today for them to be 100% Autogas.
There are more than 800 pumps in (450 from Repsol) and, according to Dacia, the additional cost of the technology (which can be implemented later)
is between 300 and 600 euros.
As this fuel costs almost half that of gasoline, it pays for itself in just 15,000 km.
They are ZERO labeled vehicles because they pollute less if they use LPG, which, 60%, is obtained from natural gas.
The doubt is the route it will have.
Just Renault and Dacia.
Seat Arona
CNG (Compressed Natural Gas)
Seat Arona
Price €22,240 Sales: 115 units.
Compressed natural gas models are almost excluded from the market.
Traditionally, they suffered from a very scarce and poorly distributed network of gas stations, which makes them little valid for long trips, although they have a small extra tank of gasoline.
The great added stumbling block is that the cost advantage they boasted has been diluted: CNG has gone from 0.84 euros in 2021 to 2.2 euros and they are just as expensive to use as diesel.
This also makes it more difficult to amortize the surcharge that they imply, about 2,500 euros.
Dynamically, they do not pose any particularity and they do suffer a decrease in the trunk due to the extra deposits.
In their favor, they have the ECO label.
DGT labels
It is no secret to anyone that many customers 'buy' a DGT label before the car itself.
It is more frequent in the case of plug-in hybrids, which have ZERO emissions with the same privileges as a 100% electric one.
Although it is more bloody to see, because the law allows it, monsters of several hundred horses and about two tons of weight that are considered ECO for carrying light hybridization.
The system should have been reformed last year, but the project was paralyzed due to lack of consensus and will probably not be resumed until 2024. Never with retroactive effects.
Low Emission Zones
All Spanish cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants must have defined and operational the so-called ZBE (Low Emissions Zones) from next year.
That is, areas (more or less large) in which the access of vehicles is discriminated according to their level of contamination.
In addition, through the Law on Sustainable Mobility and Financing of Transport, the Government has opened the door for municipalities to
charge a fee for access to these areas.
The ZBE will also be required in cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants with serious pollution problems.
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