More than nine million cars. That is the potential number of vehicles that will face restricted access in Spain as new rules for Low Emission Zones (ZBE) in urban areas come into force.
Included in that figure are diesel cars that are only 10 years old - a move that has sparked controversy across the border and also raised significant concerns among Portuguese drivers.
In this episode of Auto Rádio, a podcast from Razão Automóvel supported by Pisca Pisca, we look at these restrictions and tackle one question: what if this happened in Portugal?
What is happening with Spain’s Low Emission Zones (ZBE)?
This is not entirely new. Restrictions on driving in urban areas already existed in Spain - and in Portugal too, in Lisbon - but the net is tightening. The vehicles now being targeted are newer, particularly diesels with only a decade of use.
The measure is part of Spain’s plan to cut emissions in cities, making it mandatory to set up Low Emission Zones (ZBE) in every municipality with more than 50,000 residents.
These zones operate using an environmental badge system:
- Zero: electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids with more than 40 km of range, and hydrogen vehicles;
- Eco: conventional hybrids, LPG, and plug-in hybrids with less than 40 km of range;
- C: petrol cars registered from 2006 onwards and diesel from September 2015 onwards;
- B: petrol between 2001 and 2005 and diesel between 2006 and August 2015.
Naturally, vehicles without any environmental badge are not allowed into these zones. Under the new restrictions, vehicles with a B badge will also be “blocked”.
Bilbao was the first city to move ahead, but it is not alone. Other cities such as Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Reus and Santander already have set timetables for introducing restrictions - in some cases as early as 2026.
Catalonia, for instance, will ban B-badge vehicles on normal days (with no pollution alert) from January 2026, followed by a full, permanent ban from 2028.
What if it were in Portugal?
The question is unavoidable: what if the same approach were applied in Portugal, where the average age of the car fleet is already above 14 years?
Speaking to Razão Automóvel, Carlos Barbosa, president of the Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP), is unequivocal: “It is not possible to apply it in Portugal, because the car fleet is much older. It would stop half of the diesel car fleet.”
At first glance, that may sound dramatic, but the data backs it up. More than 4.5 million passenger cars on Portuguese roads are diesel - in other words, over 60% of the national car fleet. And more than half of the passenger cars circulating daily in Portugal - almost 3.7 million - are already more than 10 years old.
There is also a reality that cannot be ignored: public transport still is not a viable alternative for millions of Portuguese people. In 2023, only 11.8% of journeys were made by public transport, placing Portugal among the lowest in the European Union.
Helder Barata Pedro, secretary-general of ACAP, also disagrees with the Spanish approach and points out that this is not the direction being advocated at European level: “In no way are measures like this - which discriminate between fuel types and frustrate the expectations of those who bought their vehicles, when after 10 years they will no longer be able to drive them - recommended.”
Even so, he acknowledges that the issue of Reduced Emissions Zones is “on the European agenda” and could become more widespread in the near future.
Next week: a date with Auto Rádio
There is, therefore, no shortage of reasons to watch/listen to the latest episode of Auto Rádio, which returns next week on the usual platforms: YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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