Electric vehicles
The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has opened the call for applications for the Programme of aid for projects to electrify light vehicle fleets, MOVES Fleets.

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The Programme has an initial amount of 50 million euros and is aimed at the selection and granting of aid to promote the electrification of these fleets in Spain, with special emphasis on projects with a presence in more than one autonomous community. All types of companies can apply, regardless of their size, as well as the institutional public sector, as long as they apply for the incentive to acquire at least 25 electrified light vehicles (mopeds, motorbikes, quadricycles, passenger cars or vans).

The BOE publishes this new call for applications, managed by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE). The deadline for submitting applications begins on 20 January at 9 a.m. and will remain open until 21 March at midnight, via the IDAE’s electronic headquarters.

This Programme is part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), designed by the Government to mobilise European Next Generation funds. Specifically, it is included in Component 1, Investment 2, and complements other programmes already published to promote electric mobility, such as the MOVES III Programme and the two editions of MOVES Singulares.

Also charging points and management systems
The initiatives submitted may include not only the purchase of electric or fuel cell vehicles to replace combustion vehicles but also the development of the necessary charging infrastructure for the new fleet on the company’s premises. Aid may also be earmarked for the acquisition or adaptation of fleet management systems too, among other options, digitalise route control or improve the training of company staff, in order to make the transition of the fleet towards electrification.

In this way, the programme includes three blocks of actions:

Acquisition of electric and fuel cell vehicles.
Installation of electric vehicle charging points in the car parks of the applicant company or entity.
Actions to transform the fleet towards electrification.
All types of companies regardless of their size, as well as public institutional sector entities, may benefit from this programme, although it is an essential requirement that aid be requested for at least action 1, with initiatives that contemplate the purchase of 25 to 500 vehicles. Actions 2 and 3 will be optional.

As for the amount of aid, it will be aligned with that of the MOVES III programme: for action 1, it varies according to the type of beneficiary, the type of vehicle and its motorisation, and whether another vehicle is scrapped; while for actions 2 and 3, the intensity of the subsidy is 40% of the eligible costs, which may be increased by 10 percentage points in the case of aid to medium-sized companies and by 20 points in the case of aid to micro or small companies.

Meeting the objectives of the Recovery Plan
The aid from the MOVES Fleets Programme will be distributed on a competitive basis and will contribute to achieving the milestones set in the “Shock Plan for sustainable, safe and connected mobility in urban and metropolitan environments”, which constitutes Component 1 of the PRTR, in line with the objectives set by both the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) 2021-2030 and the National Air Pollution Control Programme.

The criteria to be assessed in the competitive concurrence include final energy savings and emission reductions, the existence of multiannual fleet renewal plans, as well as the use of the industrial value chain and the generation of employment at local, national and European levels. As in all PRTR programmes, the principle of ‘do no significant harm to the environment will apply.

The promotion of electric mobility is one of the clean mobility intervention lines within the framework of the PRTR, with actions led by the MITECO and the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA). Both departments work together under Component 1 of the PRTR to promote the electrification of transport and modal shift and to define and implement low-emission zones in municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, in accordance with the Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition. MITMA also encourages public transport and walking and cycling throughout the territory.

Reducing the impact of transport
The transport sector consumes 42% of Spain’s final energy. More than half of this consumption is concentrated in urban and metropolitan environments. Most transport depends on hydrocarbons, fossil resources that are almost non-existent in Spain, which implies a significant energy dependence on the outside world and on international market prices. This adds to the deterioration of air quality linked to emissions associated with fuel combustion and its effect on health and global warming.

In order to reduce the impacts associated with the current mobility model, this “Shock plan for sustainable, safe and connected mobility in urban and metropolitan environments” of the PRTR is one of the essential elements for the development of territories and social and territorial cohesion, as well as for increasing productivity, improving competitiveness and the export capacity of the economy.