Electric vehicles: Case study for Spain

Abstract This chapter gives a brief overview of the current position the electric vehicle has in the automobile market and how it plays a role in sustainable transport and sustainable living. These negative impacts of road traffic have been some of the main preoccupations in recent policies on sustainable transport. Electric vehicles are gaining greater global interest as a viable component in the search for alternatives to sustainable mobility. Electric vehicles could reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions, and other contaminants. This chapter gives an overview of the current situation of energy use and environmental loading in Spain and the automobile population and its contribution to CO2 emissions and impact on air quality. In Spain, the actions taken so far have not been sufficient to reverse the dynamic of greenhouse gas emissions, to limit the generation of external costs, or to encourage collaboration with the wellbeing of its citizens in the field of transport, in line with the international compromises reached in Horizon 2020.