MILAN -- Spanish registrations fell 29 percent to 83,900 in July, according to the ANFAC industry group.
Registrations to private customers fell by 42 percent even though buyers benefited from a suspension of registration tax that lasts from July 1 to Dec. 31.
The GANVAM industry group said one reason for the drop in private sales was the global shortage of automotive microchips that has delayed deliveries of new cars, pushing private customers to tap the used-car market.
ANFAC said the year-on-year comparison is "partially skewed" because July 2020 was the first month that dealerships were open after a strict COVID-19 lockdown, ANFAC said. This resulted in a sales boost last July from pent-up demand.
Sales last month were 28 percent below the pre-pandemic volume of July 2019.
Company registrations, including self-registrations by automakers and dealers, were down 25 percent, while demand from rental companies grew by 15 percent.
Winners and losers
The Volkswagen Group's Seat brand was the most popular marque in July with 8,066 registrations, down 9 percent, followed by VW brand with a volume of 6,859, down 29 percent to 6,859,and Kia with 6,456 sales, up 1.1. percent.
Besides Kia, only Opel and Skoda posted sales gains. Opel's registrations rose 11 percent and Skoda's sales gained 5.8 percent.
Ford had the worst decline among major brands, with sales plunging by 62 percent. Renault brand's registrations dropped 56 percent, Nissan fell 50 percent and Fiat brand was down 48 percent. Peugeot sales declined by 40 percent.
Toyota volume fell 24 percent and Hyundai was down 18 percent.
Among premium brands, Mercedes-Benz sales fell 52 percent, Audi was down 39 percent, BMW dropped by 31 percent, Alfa Romeo was down 35 percent and Porsche registrations fell 24 percent.
The Dacia Sandero small hatchback was the most popular vehicle last month with 2,623 registrations, followed by the Seat Leon compact hatchback with 2,527 and the Seat Arona small SUV with 2,360.
EV sales
Sales of electrified vehicles rose year-on-year.
Registrations of full-electric vehicles rose 21 percent for a 2 percent market share, up from a 1.5 percent share in July 2020.
The full-electric version of the Kia Niro was the most popular battery-powered model in July, with 161 registrations.
Plug-in-hybrid vehicles rose by 69 percent for a 4.3 percent share, up from 1.7 percent year-on-year.
The Peugeot 3008 compact crossover was the most popular plug-in hybrid, with 381 registrations.
Sales of full-hybrid vehicles rose 14 percent for a 23.8 percent market share, compared with a 14 percent share in July 2020.
Sales of gasoline-powered cars were down 36 percent for a 48.1 percent share, down 5.7 percentage points from July 2020.
Diesel sales dropped 49 percent for a 20.6 percent share, down 7.1 percentage points year-on-year.
LPG-powered vehicles suffered a 17 percent decline, for a 1.1 percent market share.
Total market sales for the first seven months were up 18 percent to 540,732 compared with the same period last year. The figure is 33 percent lower than in the same period of 2019.
