[UPDATE]
Failure to fight the crisis in the PTW sector in Spain
A halved PTW market shows the importance of expert opinion in policy making
Jose Maria Riaño, Secretary General of ANESDOR, the Spanish PTW Industry Association affiliated to ACEM, reported about the situation his country is facing in the context of the economic crisis. During his speech at the Public Hearing of the European Economic and Social Committee last 12 November in Milan, Mr Riaño highlighted the importance of a clear regulatory framework supporting the PTW industry. In his account Mr Riaño related that important changes in the Spanish legislation have occurred during last two years several deeply influencing the PTW market.
The first change involves the registration tax each owner has to pay when purchasing a new PTW. Spain recently moved to a CO2 based taxation. The Spanish Government however introduced the new system without any consultation being carried out with the industry. Since, four different taxation models were adopted in only 18 months with fluctuations in taxation rates of 15% in order to adjust to the unforeseen effects of these unannounced changes. This uncertainty caused confusion among customers who postponed purchase. Had the industry been involved in the process, no such consequences would have occurred.
Mr Riaño remarked that after long negotiations Anesdor managed to reach an agreement with the Spanish Government only a month ago, hopefully the basis for a stable situation.
The 3rd Driving License Directive, which according to European legislation should enter into force in 2013, is another example of how Spain is acting in relative isolation. Without complying with the European timeline, Spain is going to adopt the new set of rules as from December 2009. In this case too, very important decisions for the PTW sector were taken without taking into account expert opinions. What is more striking is that the existing European regulatory framework was ignored by policymakers.
By analyzing Mr. Riaño draws some conclusions from these recent facts. A comparison of Spanish and European market figures, first semester 2008 and first semester 2009 show that:
- European PTWs market went down by 25%, the Spanish market by 49%
- European MCs market went down by 25%, the Spanish market by 46%
- European MPs market went down by 27%, the Spanish market by 55%
Mr Riaño pointed out that viable solutions have already been adopted by other countries. In Italy scrapping schemes were swiftly implemented for PTWs soon after the effects of the crisis became apparent and they helped reducing the negative effects of the crisis.
In June, Spain finally decided to introduce a scrapping scheme intended to reverse the ailing condition of the market and spur consumer demand. However by just transposing the scheme devised for cars, without the necessary adaptation to the specificities of the PTW market results were not satisfying. Four months into the scheme, the Government hasn’t paid the due incentives back to the dealers. The most evident proof of the failure of this scheme is that barely 5000 units were sold under this system. On the other hand, the Italian scheme was specifically adapted for the PTW market, it was easy to manage and 170.000 units benefited from it.
The consequences of these ill-conceived policies are under anyone’s eyes, Mr Riaño concluded. Employment in the PTW sector in Spain declined from 29.000 employees in 2007 to 21.000. Jobs were lost in the plants located in Spain, too, with important manufacturing businesses already leaving Spain, others announcing to relocate elsewhere in Europe. Finally the distribution network lost 25% of employees.
It is Mr. Riaño’s hope is that the ‘Spanish case’ will have at least the benefit to set forth better practices and increased cooperation between policy makers and the industry.
[INDEX]
EESC PUBLIC HEARING ON EUROPEAN PTW INDUSTRY
THE PTW SECTOR AND THE ECONOMIC CRISIS
SPAIN'S STRUGGLE TO FIGHT THE CRISIS IN THE PTW SECTOR
WHO ADOPTS DECLARATION ON ROAD SAFETY
ELECTRIC PTW PRESENTED IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ESUM PROJECT
José Maria Riaño, Anesdor Secretary General