Sales of passenger cars and SUVs close the first quarter with 237,563 units, which allows an increase of 44.5%
Registrations of light commercial vehicles in March achieved an increase of 39.4% in the month, with 13,434 sales
Sales of industrial vehicles, buses, coaches and minibuses grew by 34.6% in February with 3,021 units
Madrid, March 3, 2023. The passenger car and SUV market chains its third positive month this year and manages to close the first quarter with an increase of 44.5%, with a total of 237,563 units. Regarding the market in March, a total of 99,524 units were accumulated, 66.1% more than the same month of the previous year. This increase is mainly due to both the improvement in the logistics chain and the production of vehicles. In the same way, in the last month of March, a bag of accumulated orders has been released that have increased the volume of sales, mainly for the channel of renters and companies. In any case, although there is an improvement in the month of March, the market continues to be 19% lower than the figures prior to the pandemic, in 2019.
The average CO2 emissions of passenger cars sold in March remain at 119.8 grams of CO2 per kilometer traveled, 0.28% lower than the average emissions of new passenger cars sold in the same month of 2022. During 2023, emissions stand at 119.1 grams of CO2 per kilometer travelled, 0.34% less than the same period of the previous year.
Regarding the registrations by channels, they achieved an improvement in each of them compared to the same March of the previous year. The main improvements were recorded both in the business channel, with an increase of 44.8% and 38,656 units sold, and in the rent-a-car channel, which grew by 269.4% with 24,807 sales, greatly boosting market growth in the last month. Similarly, sales to individuals grew by 36% to 36,061 registrations in March.
LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
Registrations of light commercial vehicles totaled 13,434 units in the third month, which represents an increase of 39.4% compared to last year. At the end of the first quarter, a total of 34,163 sales had accumulated, with an increase of 31.2%. Regarding sales by channels, only those aimed at self-employed registered a decrease compared to the previous year, with a decline of 5.6% and 2,110 units. On the other hand, registrations to companies and renters achieved notable increases, with 56.9% and 35.2%, respectively.
INDUSTRIAL AND BUSES
In March, registrations of industrial vehicles, buses, coaches and minibuses achieved strong growth of 34.6%, with a total of 3,021 units. During the first three months, 7,946 sales accumulate, which implies an increase of 21.2%. By type, industrial vehicles closed March with 2,567 new registrations, growing by 29.7%, as well as buses, coaches, and minibuses, which improved by 34.6% on the previous year, with 454 sales.
STATEMENTS
Félix García, director of communication and marketing at ANFAC, explained that “sales of new passenger cars close a positive first quarter, which has not happened since before the pandemic. And it does so with a March in which we have almost touched 100,000 sales. In these first three months we have had a certain stability in the parts supply chain and in logistics that have allowed us to dispose of the orders generated, as demonstrated by the pull of the business channel. However, individuals continue to buy more than 15,000 vehicles less monthly than in 2019. Doubts surrounding the use of private vehicles and their demonization continue to generate confusion: the institutions must make it clear that the low and zero emission vehicle is part of the solution and not of the problem to achieve the decarbonisation of transport”.
Raúl Morales, communication director of FACONAUTO, indicated that “vehicle sales have behaved better than expected at the start of the year, thanks above all to the fact that the stock of vehicles generated in the last stretch of the year have been registered. last year. March has confirmed this trend, driven by the registrations made by the vehicle rental companies that have been preparing for the Easter tourist season. Sales made by dealers to individuals and companies are also improving, but they are still around 20% below what they were before the pandemic.
According to GANVAM’s director of communication, Tania Puche, highlighted that “registrations are close to 100,000 units per month, very close to their natural volume. The surge in purchases from rental companies, which stock up on fleets in response to the good tourist expectations for Easter, has contributed to a chain of positive three months in a row and closing the first quarter with a certain air of hope. However, we cannot lose sight of the fact that we are still significantly below pre-pandemic levels and that, if we want to turn this growth into a trend, now that production is improving, it is important to boost the market by implementing effective measures aimed at to rejuvenate the park, facilitating access for all renters to efficient vehicles”.