Electric bikes.

I believe so, yes - up to a certain power a car licence covers it - but once you get to that point it’s mandatory helmet, registered, insured, ride on roads - you’re just as well getting yourself a small motor scooter

Is this something new?  I bought one from a reputable brand/dealer in Almeria last summer with 500w motor. They also sell others up to 750w. Shops at the bougainvilla area sells 500/750w. No mention of this at dealers.

New regulations regarding power output came in last year.  I’ll try and find the refs.

No, dealers won’t tell you - some probably don’t have a clue, others don’t want to lose the sale 

EDIT:

The electric motor must be hooked to the back wheel, next to the gears, and among its characteristics, the essential ones are that it should have a maximum power of 250 watts and speed should not be greater than 25 kilometres per hour. The motor’s ignition mechanism can only work when it is being pedalled. The motor must stop when either of these situations occurs:

• Automatically when pedalling stops
• When speeds of 25 km/hour are reached.  

That's my understanding too. I did read on another forum where someone was stopped by the Guardia for riding a bike over 250 watts. The bike was confiscated and the rider received a fine.

Yes, there’s been way to many “incidents” in Spain with e-bikes and e-scooters so Guardia Civil are cracking down as from January this year 

Found this article from Dec '22:

https://www.himobikes.com/blogs/news/spanish-e-bike-law

Weird that you can buy much bigger motors, but can't ride it

Citizens advise from 2019, I can't find any newer info:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.es/faq/e-bikes-e-scooters-insurance-and-itv-update-july-2019/

Indicates you can have an ebike upto 999w. No Info as to what insurance would cover bike or driving, and which licence is needed. It would be strange if a car driving licence didn't cover.....

I think there is some confusion here with regard to power output (watts) and battery range which is measured in watt hours (Wh). You can buy bikes with watt hours ratings commonly between 500 to 900 watt hours (or sometimes even higher with battery extenders fitted) but the actual power output remains at a maximum of 250 watts and therefore they are all perfectly legal in Spain and elsewhere in the EU and the UK. However some owners have had batteries "tweaked" by purchasing questionable after-market offerings to increase power output beyond 250 watts and thereby risking prosecution by the appropriate authorities. Additionally all reputable electric bike retailers limit the battery assistance to cut out at 25kph, again to comply with legislation. Yet again there are ways of over riding this by tweaking the engine to increase the motor assistance level to a higher speed limitation and this is also illegal.

Just checked my bike spec (Trek, sold as the 500 model of a Bosch motor), which says :

A lightweight high-performance hydroformed aluminum frame, Bosch BES3 Performance Line Sport motor (250 W, 75 Nm), capable of sustaining speeds of up to 25 km/h, battery choice of 400 Wh, 545 Wh, 725 Wh or 800 Wh easy to install and remove from the frame

Unquote.

I guess that means you that you cannot legally buy a bike motor over 250w, and certainly cannot legally ride it, but wh capacity can be far greater in numbers.