Car sales in Spain: the WLTP cycle still weighing on October

Car sales in our country continue to show a significant decline in October due to the distortion caused by the entry into force of the WLTP cycle. The year-to-date trend remains positive.

Sales of passenger cars and SUVs continue their particular decline at the end of the year. In October, registrations fell by 6.6% compared with the same period last year, representing sales of 88,410 units. October has one more working day than last year. Even so, the market is still adjusting after the front-loading of purchases caused by the entry into force of the new WLTP emissions cycle, which took place on 1 September. It should be recalled that registrations in July and August were more buoyant than usual.

The corporate channel has suffered the largest drop in sales

The decline in vehicle sales this October occurred across all sales channels, although the corporate channel recorded the largest drop: a reduction of 9%, amounting to a total of 30,670 units sold.

Upward trend in the year-to-date figures

Despite the drop in registrations seen in September and October, the year-to-date trend remains positive: sales of passenger cars and SUVs have recorded growth of 10% (1,131,081 units) compared with the same period last year; the corporate channel also shows 17% more sales than the previous year.

“The market is gradually adjusting after the distortion caused by the entry into force of WLTP, in line with forecasts. The decline is steeper for companies and rental firms, which had more capacity than private buyers to bring forward purchases, but it is moderating. We expect growth to return, very narrowly, in November and with more momentum in December, coinciding with the year-end,” says Noemi Navas, Communications Director of ANFAC.