New vehicle registrations in Spain surged by 141pc to 82,651 units in June compared with the prior month, according to the Asociación Española de Fabricantes de Automóviles y Camiones (ANFAC).
June marked the first full month that car showrooms were open to the public after lockdown measures were eased in May, releasing two months’ worth of pent up demand in a trend that was similar to the events that unfolded in the Italian automotive sector last month.
Vehicle purchases in Spain have jumped on a monthly basis, but new registrations remain 36.7pc below June 2019 levels. Key industry stakeholders are pressing upon this point for the release of approved sector-specific state-aid.
In fact, the Spanish government formally approved and signed a “Plan Renove 2020” at a cabinet meeting on July 3, which aims to stimulate the automobile industry with €250mn in subsidies for new vehicle purchases.
The incentives range from €300-4,000 per vehicle in a bid to renew the country’s ailing vehicle fleet, with greater incentives for people looking to procure hybrid or electric vehicles. According to Automotive Logistics, Spanish vehicles have an average age of 12.7 years.
Plan Renove 2020 forms part of a wider €3.75bn ($4.2bn) stimulus program for the country’s automotive sector announced in mid-June, designed to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and boost sales of low-emission vehicles.
This will be welcome news for the Spanish automotive industry after Nissan Motor Corporation announced it had decided to shut down its wholly-owned subsidiary Nissan Motor Iberica in Avila and Barcelona, which have the capacities to produce 120,000 vehicles per year.
Spain is Europe’s largest vehicle producer after Germany and hosts production plants for Volkswagen, Groupe PSA, Ford, Seat, and Renault. CIE Automotive and Gestamp Automocion, both in Madrid, are among the largest Spanish automotive parts makers.