Vehicle production in Spain achieves 20% growth through May

Vehicle production closed May positively and managed to reach 249,906 units, with a strong increase of 35.9% compared to the same month of the previous year. This figure is considerably higher than the 6% forecast in the UK, for example.

This growth reflects the beginning of the stabilisation of the production cycle in Spanish factories, according to industry experts, whose monthly evolution shows some recovery in production volume, although still below the pre-pandemic figures. The accumulated annual figure for vehicle manufacturing registers growth of 19.9% ​​with 1,081,890 units produced, although it still represents 15.2% less than in 2019.

During 2023, the factors that have conditioned production in recent years –such as the health crisis, the lack of semiconductors and the supply problem as a result of the war in Ukraine– have disappeared or have normalised, giving way to a recovery of the sector.

By type of vehicle, the manufacture of passenger cars and SUVs registered 197,422 units in May, 23.5% more than in the same month of 2022. Between January and May, 843,361 passenger cars were produced, 13.2% more than in the same period of 2022.

For its part, the production during the fifth month of the year of commercial and industrial vehicles has registered an increase of 118.4% compared to the same month of the previous year, with a total of 52,484 units. In the accumulated annual, 238,529 commercials were manufactured, 51% more than between January and May 2022.

Regarding exports, in May 222,350 units were sent outside our borders, 37.8% more than in 2022. As regards the accumulated figure for the year, during the first five months of the year exports have experienced a 25% increase, with 982,067 units exported compared to the same period of the previous year. The sector’s export capacity continues to be limited by problems in vehicle transport.

As for destinations in Europe, during the month of May they represented 90.4% of vehicle shipments, which represents a slight increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to the same month in 2022.

In the Top 5 destinations, Germany, France, Turkey, Italy, and the United Kingdom remain at the top of the ranking. European markets continue to recover from the previous year, which will have a positive impact on exports, as long as production levels and transport allow it.

In the fifth month of the year, the production of zero and low emission vehicles (electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, conventional hybrids, natural gas and LPG) has increased by 100% compared to the same period in 2022, with a total of 52,381 units, which means 7 pp more in the market share in May, to represent more than 20% of the monthly production.

Regarding the manufacturing share of electrified vehicles, this month it reached 13.4% of total production, which represents an increase of 0.6 percentage points compared to the previous year. In May, 33,558 electrified vehicles were manufactured, which represents a considerable increase of 42.4% in production volume compared to last year. Of these, 27,431 units corresponded to electrified passenger cars (BEV pure electric and PHEV plug-in hybrids), which increase by 32.3% compared to 2022.

In the accumulated of the year, the production of electrified vehicles amounts to 142,199 units, 37% more than the same period of the previous year, representing 13.1% of all national manufacturing.

“The production and export of automobiles had a very positive result last May, due to the fact that the industry begins to recover from those factors that have diminished it in the last period: we have a greater supply in the factories and the situation of the semiconductors. But we have to be cautious, because the supply has not been completely solved, nor has the lack of drivers for the trucks. It is positive that it continues to grow and the share of electrified vehicle manufacturing already exceeds 13%. Our production is ahead of the electrified sales quota, which barely exceeds 10% so far this year. At ANFAC we continue working to make Spain become a ‘hub’ of sustainable mobility. This month we have presented the update of the public access charging infrastructure maps, which show the work that remains for us as a country to meet the Fit For 55 objectives of achieving emission-free mobility by 2035. That is why we continue to demand measures that are up to these great objectives that help the sector and consumers on their path to decarbonization”, highlighted José López-Tafall, general director of ANFAC.

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