Sales of passenger cars reached 77,892 sales in October, despite the economic conditions. The data is good, but still 17% worse than in 2019
Registrations of light commercial vehicles increase by 31.3% in October, with 13,664 sales
Sales of commercial vehicles, buses, coaches and minibuses grew by 23.3% in October with 3,437 units
Madrid, November 2, 2023. Sales of passenger cars register an increase of 18.1%, with a total of 77,892 units sold in October. A notable and greater growth than expected compared to the same month of the previous year that occurs despite the current economic conditions. The decrease in the escalation of inflation and the brake on the rise in interest rates, together with the improvement in the pace of vehicle production, have had a positive effect that has allowed an increase in sales in this last month.
In the accumulated figure for the year, 789,272 units were sold, 18.5% more than the previous year. If the last two months of the year maintain this pace, the forecast of 940,000 units could be reached. In any case, the national market is still, as of October, 17% below 2019, prior to the pandemic.
The average CO2 emissions of passenger cars sold in October remain at 115.2 grams of CO2 per kilometer traveled, 4.3% lower than the average emissions of new passenger cars sold in the same month of 2022. During 2023, Emissions stand at 117.9 grams of CO2 per kilometer traveled, 2.5% less than the same period of the previous year.
Regarding sales by channels, all manage to improve the figures compared to October of the previous year. Sales to individuals achieved a notable increase of 22.2%, up to 38,110 units. In the same way as the market aimed at companies and renters, they grew by 14.7% and 12.7%, respectively, with 33,942 units for companies and 5,840 sales for rent-a-cars.
LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
Registrations of light commercial vehicles achieved a strong increase of 31.3%, with 13,664 units. As of October, a total of 118,447 vehicles have been sold, which represents an increase of 21.7%. In sales by channel, there are improvements in each of them, highlighting the units sold to companies that account for almost all of the sales for the month, with 10,352 registrations, 37.2%. For its part, sales to self-employed workers totaled 2,053 units, 10.3% more, and those aimed at rental companies registered 1,259 sales, a growth of 26.3%.
INDUSTRIAL AND BUSES
In October, registrations of commercial vehicles, buses, coaches and minibuses maintained their positive path, with an increase of 23.3% and 3,437 units. In the cumulative total of the year, there are 26,484 units, which represents a growth of 26.3% compared to 2022. By type of vehicle, industrial vehicles register an increase of 19.6%, with 3,088 sales, as do buses, coaches and minibuses that grow by 69.4% to 349 units.
STATEMENTS
Félix García, director of communication and marketing at ANFAC, explained that “October closes with double-digit growth that improves forecasts. With last month’s figures we can think that if the growth rate is maintained in November and December we could exceed 940,000 units. A fact that improves the disastrous 2022 where only 813,000 passenger cars were sold but which failed to overcome the barrier of one million units. Spain, due to its population and income level, must have an annual market above that million units to maintain employment in the automotive sector. Good news last month was also the behavior of commercial and industrial sales, a sign that economic activity is advancing despite the uncertainty caused by having a Government in office. We hope that a decision by the ECB not to continue raising interest rates will also encourage private buyers to continue replacing their old vehicles with new ones and thus lower our average age of the fleet, which is already over 14 years old.”
Raúl Morales, communication director of FACONAUTO, indicated that “the automotive market in the month of October has been greatly favored by the fact that there is more stock in the dealerships, there are more vehicles available, which explains this increase in registrations. In parallel, both brands and dealers are being more ambitious with their campaigns towards the end customer and this, logically, is driving demand. What is foreseeable is that the good trend in registrations that we have seen in October will continue in the months of November and December, which are traditionally very good from a commercial point of view, and this would lead us to easily exceed 950,000 registrations in the present exercise. If we talk specifically about electric vehicles, between now and the end of the year there will be a good opportunity to acquire them, since MOVES III ends on December 31 with no signs of a renewal, which means that those families, those companies, “Those individuals who want to switch to an electric vehicle have the opportunity now since they will be benefited by the aid from MOVES III.”
Ganvam’s communications director, Tania Puche, highlighted that “registrations of passenger cars and SUVs grew by double digits in October. We are talking about ten consecutive months of growth, although we must not lose sight of the fact that we are still around 20% below pre-pandemic levels. The decrease in inflation and the brake on the rise in interest rates has a positive effect on the individual channel, which is concentrating almost half of the sales volume, pulling the market. According to the forecasts we use, the year will close above 900,000 registered units and, as we anticipated, it will not be until 2024 when we overcome the psychological barrier of one million units.”