• After the European Parliament’s Environment Committee voted to cut the 2035 CO₂ reduction target for new cars from 100% to 95% – or 87.5% with credits for low-CO₂ European steel – some companies in the Spanish platform Autoparts From Spain already manufacture components for combustion engines as well as for hybrid and electric vehicles.
• Cylinder heads for petrol, diesel and gas engines alongside housings for electric motors and batteries, brake pads designed specifically for EVs, repair kits for electric drive units and fluids for electrified vehicles are part of the range offered by suppliers such as AMC, ICER Brakes, Fersa Bearings and Olipes.
• With some 371 million out-of-warranty vehicles expected in Europe by the end of 2026, according to Mobility Global, the aftermarket will have to serve a vehicle parc that combines different powertrains for years to come.
• The United Kingdom remained the leading market outside the EU for Spain’s automotive components industry in 2025, with exports of €1.405 billion, up 4.7%, out of a total of €24.688 billion.

The European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI) voted on 4 November, by 48 votes to 30 with two abstentions, to cut the 2035 CO₂ reduction target for new cars from 100% to 95%, a level that could be as low as 87.5% with credits for low-CO₂ European steel.

The text still has to pass the plenary vote, scheduled for December, and the Council, so changes remain possible. The vote comes after Germany and France pushed for more flexibility. Whatever the outcome, Europe’s automotive industry will live for years with combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles, and will need suppliers able to serve all of them.

This coexistence is particularly visible in the aftermarket. According to Mobility Global, around 371 million out-of-warranty vehicles will be on Europe’s roads by the end of 2026, roughly 84% of the total vehicle parc. Garages and distributors will continue to need spare parts for combustion engines, while demand for components and services for electrified vehicles grows.

Against this backdrop, several companies in Autoparts From Spain, the platform representing Spain’s leading manufacturers and exporters of automotive components made in Spain, are already working for both technologies.

This is the case of AMC, which specialises in aluminium cylinder heads for petrol, diesel and gas combustion engines and also takes part in the design, prototyping and manufacture of components for electric vehicles, such as electric motor housings and battery housing plates.

ICER Brakes, a friction material manufacturer founded in 1961, offers a range of brake pads developed specifically for electric and hybrid vehicles, copper-free and designed to reduce particle emissions. The company also takes part in the LIFE NEEVE project, which aims to reduce particle emissions from braking systems.

Fersa Bearings combines its experience in bearings for commercial vehicles with solutions for electric mobility. Through its PFI Fersa division, it has developed repair kits for the drive units of electric models such as the Tesla Model S and Model X or the Renault Zoe, allowing workshops to repair rather than replace the entire assembly.

In lubricants, Olipes offers engine oils for petrol and diesel engines, products for hybrids and a complete EV-Fluids range for electric and hybrid vehicles, developed in response to the market’s growing electrification. For its part, Tecnodiesel Murcia, a specialist in diesel and petrol engine management and in the remanufacturing of injection systems, offers a range that, according to the company, covers more than 95% of the vehicle fleet.

This ability to adapt rests on a strongly international industry. In 2025, Spanish automotive suppliers generated turnover of €40.949 billion and exported components worth €24.688 billion, more than 60% of their turnover. Outside the EU, the United Kingdom remained the leading market, with €1.405 billion, 4.7% more than in 2024. The European Union accounted for 68% of exports, led by Germany (€4.051 billion) and France (€3.738 billion). The sector also invested €1.22 billion in R&D&I, 3% of its turnover and twice the Spanish industrial average.

All of this is backed by production in Spain, within the European single market, at a time when the European Union is also debating the Industrial Accelerator Act, which proposes to favour products made in Europe, including automotive components, in public aid and procurement.

“Whatever timetable Europe finally sets, manufacturers and the aftermarket will need components for different technologies for many years to come. Spanish suppliers have long been preparing for this: we continue to manufacture for the combustion engine with the highest standards and, at the same time, we are developing solutions for hybrids and electric vehicles. That flexibility, together with our proximity to Europe’s main production centres, is today an advantage for our customers in Germany, France or the United Kingdom,” says Mª Begoña Llamazares, Markets Manager at SERNAUTO and spokesperson for Autoparts From Spain.

The combination of industrial experience in traditional technologies and the development of solutions for electrification puts Spanish suppliers in a solid position to support the sector’s transformation, including in the UK aftermarket, whatever its pace.