Sales of passenger cars and SUVs registered 92,000 units in April, 23.1% more, recovering the positive rhythm after the effect of Easter in March
Registrations of light commercial vehicles grow by 47.6%, with 15,696 sales
Sales of commercial vehicles, buses, coaches and minibuses increase by 52.7% in the fourth month with 3,362 units
Madrid, May 2, 2024. The passenger car and SUV market grew by 23.1% in April, with 92,000 registrations. Last month’s strong growth is a consequence of the fact that Easter was celebrated in April 2023, so this year there have been more sales business days. Similarly, last month the drop in sales of 4.7% was caused because March of this year had fewer business days than the same month in 2023. Therefore, the sum of sales in March and April was 186,840 units, which is 7.2% more than the same period in 2023 and thus eliminates the seasonal effect of Holy Week.
In total for the year, registrations accumulate 336,726 units, 7.8% more than the same quarter of the previous year. Although, it should be noted that sales are still 23% below the pre-pandemic records of 2019.
The average CO2 emissions of passenger cars sold in April remain at 118.9 grams of CO2 per kilometer traveled, 0.2% lower than the average emissions of new passenger cars sold in the same month of 2023. In total of the year, an average of 117.4 grams of CO2 per kilometer traveled is recorded, 1.42% lower.
With the exception of sales aimed at companies, with a decline of 4.6%, the rest of the channels obtained strong growth, boosting the positive result for the month. Sales to individuals increased by 32.3%, with a total of 37,548 units sold. Like rent-a-car, which has strong growth, with 60.2% more sales than the same month of the previous year and 25,237 sales.
LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
Registrations of light commercial vehicles achieved a notable increase of 47.6%, with 15,696 units in April. In the first quarter, a total of 53,350 new registrations were added, which is 19.5% more than the same period of the previous year. In channel sales, everyone gets a positive result. Sales aimed at companies are those that achieve the greatest growth, with 70.8% more and 2,588 units. For their part, the self-employed increased by 64.8% and 2,562 registrations, while the business channel registered 10,546 new units, which represents 39.4% more.
INDUSTRIAL AND BUSES
In April, registrations of commercial vehicles, buses, coaches and minibuses maintain their good pace and sales increase considerably. In the fourth month, an increase of 52.7% was achieved, with 3,362 units. In the accumulated of the year, there are 12,488 units, with a growth of 23%. By type of vehicle, both industrial vehicles and buses and coaches managed to grow, with an improvement of 49.9% and 72.7%, respectively, in the month. Where industrial companies register 2,882 new units and buses and coaches register 480 new registrations.
STATEMENTS
Félix García, director of communication and marketing at ANFAC, explained that “if we eliminate the effect of Easter by adding the sales of March and April, the market rises 7.2%. It is a positive fact. But, although customers have decided to continue buying more cars during these four months than in the same period last year, sales of plug-in vehicles are not growing in share and we are even below that achieved in 2023. If we look at the data In the first quarter we grew around 8%, which keeps us on track to try to overcome the barrier of one million passenger cars sold in 2024. If we want to rejuvenate the fleet that is more than 14 years old and sell more low and zero vehicles emissions, it is necessary to overcome that bar to try to attack again the objective of 1.2 million annual sales.”
Raúl Morales, communication director of FACONAUTO, indicated that “after the market fall in the month of March, April returns to the path of growth due to an especially seasonal issue. Last year, Easter fell in April, there were fewer marketing days and this year we have had a normal April from a commercial point of view and this is reflected in this increase in registrations. The good performance of the rental company channel has also had a positive impact. Rental companies are preparing their summer campaign, they are supplying vehicles and this is also seen in the statistics. Worse news is the fact that registrations by companies are falling, a trend that we have been seeing since the beginning of the year, and this indicates doubts that they are not renewing their fleet, which is never good news. The fact that the contribution of electrified vehicles to the market continues to fall is also not good news. We are at more or less 10% market penetration of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, when last year we were at 11%, and this means that, without the appropriate policies, unfortunately in our country the electrified vehicle will not work as “It happens in other countries around us that we have to look at if we want to meet the decarbonization objectives that come to us from the European Union.”
Ganvam’s communications director, Tania Puche, highlighted that “last month we can say that we had the calendar in our favor. There were three more working days than in April of last year due to how Holy Week fell and this circumstance has contributed to registrations registering a notable growth; However, we cannot lose sight of the fact that we are still more than 20% below pre-pandemic levels. Taking this calendar effect into account, we must highlight the growth of the channel of rental companies, which continue to renew their fleet at a good pace; and for propulsion, the pull of non-plug-in hybrid vehicles. As things stand, the total for the year significantly improves last year’s records at this time. We will see how it behaves next month, but we could perfectly reach one million units of new passenger cars registered in 2024.”