Sales of passenger cars and SUVs increased by 13.3% in June and accumulated more than half a million units sold in the first semester
Registrations of light commercial vehicles grew by 46.5% in June, with 15,301 sales
Sales of industrial vehicles, buses, coaches and minibuses increased by 20.7% in June with 2,541 units
Madrid, July 3, 2023. The passenger car and SUV market achieved a new increase in sales in the sixth month of the year, reaching 101,085 units, with an increase of 13.3% compared to the same month of the previous year. For the first time in 2023, the barrier of 100,000 units was overcome, driven by the improvement in vehicle production and the growth in rent-a-car sales due to the summer period. Throughout the first semester, a total of 505,421 units were added, which, although it is an increase of 24% compared to the previous year, is still 27% lower than the pre-pandemic records of 2019
The average CO2 emissions of passenger cars sold in June remain at 117.1 grams of CO2 per kilometer traveled, 3.7% lower than the average emissions of new passenger cars sold in the same month of 2022. During 2023, emissions stand at 118.4 grams of CO2 per kilometer travelled, 2.1% less than the same period of the previous year.
The month of June has reported growth in all channels. The rent-a-car, due to the period prior to the summer and to the orders from the rental companies, grew by 48.8%, to 24,699 units. Similarly, sales directed to both individuals and companies registered a good performance, with increases of 8.5% and 1.9%, respectively, with a total of 38,576 units for individuals and 37,810 for companies. In any case, it should be noted that during the first half of the year the private channel was still 31% lower than it was in 2019, before the pandemic.
LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
Registrations of light commercial vehicles reached 15,301 units in the sixth month, an increase of 46.5% compared to last year. In the first semester, the market continues its positive trend and adds 72,150 units, 26.6% more than the previous year. By channels, despite the monthly increase, sales to the self-employed decreased by 17.2%, while the business and rental channel achieved respective increases of 76.5% and 25.6%.
INDUSTRIAL AND BUSES
In June, the registrations of industrial vehicles, buses, coaches and minibuses registered a new increase, with 20.7% more than the same month last year, with 2,541 sales in the month. So far this year, 15,178 units have been sold, representing an improvement of 20.8%. By type of vehicle, industrialists obtained 2,235 new registrations, 15.9% more than in the previous year and, similarly, sales of buses, coaches and microbuses achieved 306 units sold, with an improvement of 71.9 % in the month.
STATEMENTS
Félix García, director of communication and marketing at ANFAC, explained that “June has lived up to the tradition of being a good month and more than 100,000 units have been sold, which also means double-digit growth if we compare it with the same month 2022. According to forecasts, the tourist campaign points to record levels, which has boosted purchases by rental companies. Purchases that have been possible thanks to a stabilization in the supply chain of parts and semiconductors. These are positive data that make us continue to trust that the market will close at around 950,000 units. Reaching one million units will depend on how demand is maintained in the last four months of the year and the impact that interest rates above 4% have on the purchase decision of customers”.
Raúl Morales, communication director of FACONAUTO, indicated that “the balance of this first half of the year is good because the automotive market in our country has behaved better than expected, chaining six consecutive months of increase in registrations. This good performance is based, above all, on the fact that the supply of vehicles to the market has improved and also on the strong increase in registrations made by companies and vehicle rental companies, which are renewing their fleets very intensively and, Logically, this is reflected in the statistics. If we pay attention to the economic and private consumption forecasts for the second half of the year, which are positive, it is normal for the good performance of the automotive market seen so far to also continue for the second half of the year. Even so, we maintain that we are going to close with some 940,000 units, which is still close to 20% of what we did in 2019 before the pandemic.
According to GANVAM’s communication director, Tania Puche, highlighted that “for the first time in 29 months, we closed over 100,000 monthly registered units. The factors that conditioned the production of vehicles, such as the lack of chips, etc. they are being left behind and this is making it possible to expedite deliveries. Thus, rental companies stock up on fleets to respond to a summer that is expected to be a record and private purchases continue to be positive. In this context, in which inflation is also moderating, we ended the semester with more than half a million registrations; although, looking towards the end of the year, we are cautious and believe that this good rate of the rent-a-car channel is going to moderate. This means that in 2023 it will again be below one million for the fourth consecutive year, specifically around 944,000 units”.