New-car registrations in Spain increased by 178 percent in May compared with the same month last year, when dealerships were closed under coronavirus lockdown.
There were 95,403 sales in May, according to industry group ANFAC, compared with 34,338 in 2020, when dealerships were closed until May 11, after which they could partly reopen.
Sales in May were still 24 percent below the pre-pandemic volume of May 2019..
Sales to rental companies were up by 1,234 percent this year compared to May 2020; company registrations (including self-registrations by automakers and dealerships) were up 131 percent. Private demand trailed the overall market growth, rising by 79 percent.
ANFAC said the gradual recovery of inter-regional mobility in Spain benefited short-term rental companies, which are also restocking before an expected tourism recovery this summer. The group said it is “worried by the low level of private customer demand, which was affected by the economic uncertainty.”
Sales through May were up 40 percent on the same period of 2020, to 360,057. The figure was 36 percent lower than the same period in 2019.