Iberdrola, Spain\u2019s leading electric vehicle charging operator, expects its charging division to turn profitable before 2030. Heavy investment and slow market growth have delayed returns, but usage is rising and the company is holding prices steady.<\/p>\n
Iberdrola, the largest operator of electric vehicle charging points in Spain, is pushing ahead with its expansion despite ongoing financial losses. Jorge Mu\u00f1oz, head of Smart Mobility at Iberdrola, told EL ESPA\u00d1OL-Invertia that the company expects its charging division to reach profitability before the end of the decade, even as the sector remains unprofitable for most players today.<\/p>\n
According to Mu\u00f1oz, the main obstacle is the scale of investment required to build out Spain\u2019s charging infrastructure. \u201cWe\u2019re still in the phase of recouping those investments,\u201d he explained, noting that the pace of electric vehicle adoption has been slower than initially forecast. However, Mu\u00f1oz sees a clear acceleration in usage over the past year, which he believes will eventually translate into sustainable returns. \u201cThe entire sector is waiting for utilization rates to rise enough to hit profitability targets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The entire sector is waiting for utilization rates to rise enough to hit profitability targets.<\/p>\n
Jorge Mu\u00f1oz<\/p>\n
Charging Together, the joint venture between Iberdrola and bp pulse launched at the end of 2023, has yet to break even. In 2024, the company posted losses of \u20ac12.8 million, which deepened by 27.6% to \u20ac16.3 million in 2025. These losses are directly tied to rapid network expansion: total assets grew 14% year-on-year in 2025, reaching \u20ac273.9 million, driven by new installations and network development.<\/p>\n
Today, Iberdrola operates 11,800 charging points across Spain\u2014about 20% of the national total. Of these, roughly 3,500 are high-power chargers, while the rest are AC points mainly located in cities and at destinations, often in partnership with other companies. Despite rising costs, Mu\u00f1oz confirmed that Iberdrola has kept its charging prices unchanged since 2024, regardless of sector fluctuations. Looking ahead, he suggested that prices could become more competitive as the market matures.<\/p>\n
While battery-powered vehicles are gaining ground, hydrogen fuel cell technology remains at a much earlier stage, especially for industrial transport. Mu\u00f1oz pointed out that hydrogen\u2019s cost per kilometer is three to five times higher than battery electric vehicles, mainly due to inefficiencies and the lack of refueling infrastructure. \u201cFor light transport, hydrogen will have no real role. In heavy transport, there may be some niche uses, but we don\u2019t see it becoming widespread,\u201d he said, emphasizing that batteries are likely to dominate both light and heavy vehicle segments.<\/p>\n
The challenges facing Spain\u2019s charging infrastructure are not unique. Other companies have also had to adapt to the realities of electric mobility, as seen when Carrefour restricted electric vehicles from upper parking levels in some stores due to safety concerns\u2014a move that highlighted the tension between new technology and existing infrastructure. (Read more about Carrefour\u2019s EV parking restrictions<\/a>.)<\/p>\n As the Spanish market continues to evolve, Iberdrola\u2019s strategy reflects both the risks and the long-term potential of electric mobility. According to data from elespanol motor, the company\u2019s commitment to expansion and stable pricing could position it as a key player once the sector reaches critical mass. For now, the path to profitability remains tied to how quickly Spanish drivers embrace electric vehicles and how efficiently operators can scale their networks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iberdrola, Spain\u2019s leading electric vehicle charging operator, expects its charging division to turn profitable before 2030. Heavy investment…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[371,146,4202],"class_list":["post-77031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-iberdrola","tag-economy","tag-iberdrola","tag-transport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}