Registrations continue to grow, with electric and hybrid vehicles on the rise

Even though Spain no longer has a specific “plan” for the purchase of private vehicles, and even though the economy remains sluggish but is advancing in small steps, the automotive industry is managing to keep the figures afloat month after month. Now that the sales figures for September have come to light, it can be confirmed that sales are still rising, although not at the pace manufacturers would like.

In September as a whole, 83,720 units were registered, which represents a monthly growth of 9.5% and 4.5% when compared with September 2016. The business channel was the one that recorded the largest increase, with growth of 8.3%. Among professional buyers, Rent-a-Car stands at the opposite end, with a somewhat worrying drop of 4.8%.

But what most concerns manufacturers’ associations is undoubtedly the private buyer channel, because although September closed with a rise of 3.2% compared with September 2016, growth remains very modest, and forecasts for the rest of the year are not entirely optimistic. This worries them for two reasons: first, this channel provides dealers with greater profitability, and second, the car park continues to age at a rapid pace.

The latter is undoubtedly a major problem, both in terms of safety for users and in terms of pollution, all the more so now that we know large cities such as Madrid will become much more restrictive about vehicle traffic in the city centre. The manufacturers’ associations once again urge the Government to encourage private vehicle purchases with new incentives.

On the other hand, electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles continue to grow exponentially compared with the previous year, with a rise of 74.9% over September 2016, which translates into 5,160 units. In total this year, from January to September, almost 46,000 units have been registered, 82.8% more over this period of the year.

Logically, as you will have guessed, plug-in hybrids account for the largest market share, with 40,644 units sold so far this year, representing growth of 62.7%. For the same period, the figure for electric vehicles is well below, with 5,342 units registered, although even so we are talking about growth of 62.7%.