Registrations of passenger cars and off-road vehicles fell 38.4% in the second month, with 58,279 units.
Light commercial vehicle registrations decreased in the month by 17.6% compared to February 2020, to 12,960 units.
Industrial vehicles, buses, coaches and minibuses closed the month of February with a rise in deliveries of 3.1%, to 2,002 units.
Madrid, March 1, 2021. Vehicle registrations plummet in the first two months of the year, with double-digit sales reduction in most of the commercialization segments. Specifically, the registrations of passenger cars and SUVs maintain the sharp fall registered in January in the second month of the year, with a decrease in sales of 38.4%, to 58,279 units with the same working days in February 2020 and 2021 The accumulated figures for the year (January and February) registered a drop of 44.6%, to 100,242 units, compared to the same period of the previous year.
This drop has a special impact on the private channel, which has registered, for the first time since 1996 (first year with digitized information), fewer sales than the corporate channel despite being a much larger market in volumes. Specifically, 23,154 units were sold, a 43.8% drop in February compared to the same month of the previous year in individuals compared to 26,111 units (-18.7%) in companies.
The average CO2 emissions of passenger cars sold in February stood at 128.8 grams of CO2 per kilometer (WLTP), which, compared in homogeneous terms with the NEDC data for February 2020, represents a reduction of 4, 5% CO2 emissions.
LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
In February, 12,960 light commercial vehicles were registered, 17.6% less than in the same month of 2020. The segment most affected is that of light commercial vehicles weighing less than 2.8 tons, with a fall of 19.8% , up to 1,230 units. For their part, tourism derivatives are the only segment that grows, with 51 registrations in February and a growth of 75.9%. In the accumulated of the year, the sales of light commercial vehicles fell 23.9%, to 22,505 units, compared to the same period of the previous year.
INDUSTRIAL AND BUSES
The registrations of industrial vehicles, buses, coaches and minibuses were the only ones that managed to register increases, unlike the other vehicle segments, a rise of 3.1% during February, with 2,002 units delivered. The growth in segments such as light industrial vehicles of up to six tons, heavy industrial vehicles of more than 16 tons and tractors stands out. In the accumulated of the year, sales in this segment fell 9.5% compared to the same period of the previous year, to 3,998 units.
STATEMENTS
Noemi Navas, ANFAC Communication Director, explained that “these data confirm that the perfect storm on vehicle registrations is getting worse. The conjunction of the third wave of the pandemic, the bad economic situation and the drop in consumer confidence added to the end of the RENOVE plan and the rise in Registration Tax is having a very negative impact on sales, especially as we have highlighted , about families. In fact, the only sales segment that grows in February are vehicles over 20 years old. In this way, the recovery of the market and the renewal of the park necessary to meet the decarbonisation objectives are prevented. We need urgent measures to boost the market ”.
Raúl Morales, communication director of FACONAUTO, indicates that “the registrations for the month of February confirm the strong impact that this third wave of the pandemic is having on the market. Exposure traffic at dealerships is falling 50% compared to last year’s data, which indicates that we are in the worst of the crisis for us and, what is more worrying, that the first half of the year may be lost if there is not a radical change in the situation. The reactivation of demand among individuals is urgent and this will have a lot to do with the fact that the vaccination of the population is further accelerated, that mobility is fully recovered, but also that measures that stimulate the market, such as the Renove Plan or that the registration tax increase is redirected. We aspire for there to be a change in trend starting in the summer and for the market to consolidate in the second half of the year, but until then very complicated months are expected for the activity of the dealers and for employment.
According to Ganvam Communication Director, Tania Puche, “the February figures show that the market is in an extremely serious situation. Applying an automobile simile, we are in reserve. The start of the vaccination campaign has not had an impact on consumer confidence and, therefore, purchases by individuals, which in the end are those that indicate the health of the market, are plummeting. In addition, with the stoppage of tourist activity, rental companies do not renew their fleet and since their purchases have a lot of weight in our market mix, they weigh down on registrations. This situation compromises the maintenance of employment, which only in the distribution part employs around 350,000 people. Precisely, for this crisis to be resolved with the lowest possible social and economic cost, it is vital that the Government contribute urgently to stimulate demand with extraordinary measures such as neutralizing the increase in registration tax – a position that Parliament supports – or one with a new incentive plan, especially when the Renove ended on December 31st with nearly 200 million euros left unused ”.