Spanish sales rose 178% in May, but private demand lagged

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.

Most volume brands posted large sales increases in May. Volkswagen Group's Seat brand led with 350 percent growth, helped by demand for the Arona small crossover and the Ibiza small hatchback, which were the market's most popular models with sales of 3,629 and 2,538 respectively.

In third place was the Citroën C3 small hatchback, which sold 2,279 units.

Within VW Group, Volkswagen brand sales increased by 212 percent, Skoda volume rose 347 percent and Audi registrations were up 71 percent.

Within Stellantis group, Peugeot sales rose 120 percent, Citroen was up 247 percent and Opel grew 260 percent. Fiat registrations rose 171 percent and Alfa Romeo was up 139 percent. Jeep sales rose 196 percent.

Renault brand sales grew 123 percent for the month, while Dacia sales were up 5 percent.
Ford sales increased 92 percent.

BMW posted a 97 percent growth, while Mercedes-Benz sales increased by 152 percent.

Among Asian brands, Toyota increased sales by 182 percent and Nissan was up 113 percent. Hyundai sales rose 333 percent, while sibling brand Kia posted a 376 percent rise.

Sales of full-electric vehicles rose 387 percent in May for a 1.9 percent market share, compared with 1.1 percent share in May 2020.

Plug-in hybrid vehicle sales grew by 496 percent for a 4.7 percent share, up from 2.2 percent last year. Sales of full-hybrid vehicles rose 376 percent for a 23 percent share versus a 14 percent share in May 2020.

Gasoline engines showed a small drop from May 2020 to a 49.1 percent market share. Diesel had a 20.2 percent share, 11 percentage points lower than May 2020. Liquified petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles posted growth of 125 percent for a 0.8 percent market share