Since Pedro Sánchez took office, Spain’s official car fleet has expanded rapidly. The Parque Móvil del Estado (PME) now manages about 700 vehicles and employs 900 drivers, putting logistics under strain. The PME’s 2025 annual report puts the actual vehicle count at 666, with 559 carrying the ECO or Cero emissions label. Roughly 84% of the fleet is so classified as low-emission, a figure also supported by independent data.
Most of these cars are hybrids or fully electric, bought with funding from the European Union’s Next Generation program. The aim was to modernize state transport and cut emissions. More than 80% of the fleet now carries an Eco or zero-emissions badge, but many vehicles spend their days parked, either plugged in or waiting for a free charging spot. PME figures show the ECO/Cero fleet grew by 18 cars in 2025 as the government continued its push to electrify.
Despite the growing share of electrified vehicles, the PME’s total fuel consumption rose by 12% in 2025, while electricity use for charging fell by more than 15%, information from its annual report.
The basic obstacle is infrastructure: government buildings across Spain do not have enough charging points. Plug-in hybrids and electric cars often sit idle, sometimes without ever being charged. The PME’s modernization lead has outpaced the country’s ability to support it, creating daily logistical problems. The Objective has reported that the mismatch between vehicle purchases and charging-station installations has left many electric cars underused because charging capacity is insufficient.
About 300 government officials are entitled to use the cars. They include the president, vice presidents, ministers, secretaries of state and heads of top institutions. The remaining vehicles are assigned information from daily schedules, with the Ministries of Exteriores, Interior and Hacienda using them most. PME documents do not provide a full breakdown of which officials are assigned which cars and drivers.
Pedro Sánchez himself travels in an Audi A8 L, a model that cost €500,000 in 2017. The rest of the fleet includes Ford Mondeo hybrids, Toyota Prius and Corolla, Peugeot 508 and 607, Renault Mégane and Austral, and Skoda Superb. All were bought through public tenders to demonstrate Spain’s commitment to sustainability. The PME’s annual report says the fleet’s total mileage fell in 2025: its cars covered 6,356,060 km, compared with 6,561,800 km the year before. Fuel consumption nevertheless rose as the cars drove less. The Objective reported that from 2022 to 2024, the PME recorded a steady decline in fossil-fuel use and an increase in electricity consumption for charging. In 2025, both trends reversed, with fuel use rising and electricity use falling as the fleet continued to modernize.
With 900 drivers for about 700 vehicles, the PME has become a sprawling bureaucracy, providing round-the-clock coverage for the 300 eligible officials. The Casa Real alone has about 40 vehicles at its disposal. Other institutions, including the Tribunal Supremo and Tribunal Constitucional, also draw from the PME pool.
Spain is not alone in using official cars as a symbol of power. Recent asset seizures and luxury-car crackdowns, including those reported in Málaga, show that vehicles remain a status marker across Spanish institutions.
The push for electrification was supposed to signal progress. Instead, plug-in hybrids often go uncharged, and the gap between policy and infrastructure has become difficult to ignore. As Sánchez and his ministers prepare to leave office, they leave behind a system that looks modern on paper but is tangled in daily contradictions. Spain’s next government will inherit a fleet of cars and a logistical puzzle that needs solving quickly.
