Prices for the mandatory V16 emergency beacon are climbing across Spain as the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT) launches a summer campaign to promote its use. The increase follows months of pressure from manufacturers, who say unclear regulations and limited public information have stalled sales of the device, which has been required in vehicles covered by the regulation since 1 January 2026.
By mid-June, online retailers had withdrawn previous discounts on V16 beacons, pushing prices well above earlier promotional offers. Current prices have not yet reached the highs seen before the regulation took effect, when some units sold for over 50 euros, but the upward trend is clear. The competition that once drove prices down has faded, and manufacturers and distributors are no longer trying to clear excess stock.
Funded with public money, the DGT’s campaign aims to boost adoption of the V16 beacon after a period of sluggish sales. DGT director Pere Navarro has described the market as being at a “stagnation,” attributing it to confusion and uncertainty during the initial rollout of the new requirement. The campaign is expected to raise the device’s profile and, in turn, sales. It could also give manufacturers room to raise prices as demand is expected to grow.
Industry representatives have repeatedly called for clearer rules and more consistent communication from the DGT. They warn that the lack of clarity has affected road safety and consumer confidence, while adding pressure on Spanish manufacturers that have invested heavily in developing compliant devices. Netun Solutions, the company behind the original V16 beacon, has entered pre-bankruptcy proceedings, citing low sales despite the legal requirement for drivers to carry the device. The company has publicly blamed the DGT for failing to give motorists sufficient information.
Netun has also been linked to financing under Spain’s 2022 state-backed guarantee programme, established to mitigate economic effects associated with the war in Ukraine. A transparency request asked whether loans connected to the company had been repaid or remained outstanding, and whether any guarantees had been triggered. The Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) withheld operational details, citing banking secrecy. The information withheld included amounts and participating banks, as well as loan maturities. ICO said it had detected no irregularities in the company’s operations and had procedures to check that financing was used for authorised purposes, as reported by The Objective.
The V16 beacon replaces the traditional warning triangle for vehicles covered by the rule. It is designed to improve roadside safety by making stopped vehicles more visible in the event of a breakdown or accident. A connected model can be placed on the vehicle, normally on its roof, without the driver having to walk along the carriageway to set out a triangle. It transmits the vehicle’s location through the DGT 3.0 traffic-information system, allowing an incident to feed into digital traffic warnings.
Compliance depends on using a certified, connected model; a generic flashing lamp or an older non-connected beacon does not meet the requirement. Motorcycles are not required to carry a V16 beacon, although the DGT recommends one for its visibility and safety benefits. Correos has also added DGT-approved, geolocatable beacons to its postal-service network. Rural postal workers can help certain related services at customers’ homes.
The DGT’s campaign is part of a broader effort to reduce road fatalities and modernise safety standards, though the current price increases may add to drivers’ costs. Spain has one of Europe’s most ambitious road-safety programmes, and the V16 beacon is a basic element of its strategy to reduce secondary accidents on highways. As the summer travel season begins, higher prices and renewed enforcement are likely to affect millions of motorists across the country.
