Sales are still affected by the semiconductor crisis and have been negative for three years
At the beginning of 2022, the automotive sector was optimistic about this year
the prospect of overcoming the crisis motivated by the Covid-19 and semiconductors to recover pre-pandemic sales levels.
But as the months passed, this optimism gave way to conformism and uncertainty ahead of 2023, as few manufacturers dare to make a prediction. The numbers speak clearly:
the Spanish automotive sectorI close 2022 with a slight setback, despite the upward trend that has started in recent months. The nationwide market will be around 830,000 units in the best case scenario and a 3% decline from 2021.
It is already the third negative end of the year compared to pre-pandemic numbers, with a 34% decrease compared to 2019. The economic uncertainty, marked
due to strong inflation and the increase in energy and raw material costs, and the microchip crisis remain the main factors determining the evolution of registrations.
The semiconductor crisis, a situation that has determined the pace of car production since the end of 2020, has been added this year
other factors arising from the war in Ukraine and the impact of the pandemic that has caused vehicle production in Spain to drop to around 2.2 million units in 2022, with a slight increase from 2021. And a recent problem helps few to make a minimally accurate forecast: logistics. The transport of vehicles to and from Spain is the last factor of concern to both manufacturers and sellers, as it causes significant delays in deliveries for some brands.
From Anfac, they estimate that the passenger car and SUV market will be above 2022 records, but still well below pre-Covid-19 numbers. As for the electrified passenger car market, Spain
keeps moving away from the necessary pace to meet the emission reduction targets set in the PNIEC, further closing the gap with the European environment, in which the average number of electrified vehicles represents 20% of total sales.
The factories are also still far from the pre-crisis figures, when production was around 2.8 million vehicles.
That is the goal to be achieved, but Anfac’s general manager believes that “it won’t be this year or next year”.
According to José López-Tafall, these are worrying data and prospects, as “Spain should achieve,
with about 1.5 million car sales per year, of which 1.2 million would correspond to passenger cars. Maintaining this market and production rate poses a significant risk to our industry as it could lead to job destruction and loss of competitiveness.”
By 2022 will reach the domestic market
a total of about 80,000 pieces of electrified passenger cars (pure electric and plug-in hybrids) 20% more than the previous year, but a figure that falls short of the 120,000 unit milestone for this year and represents only one in ten sales of the total market.
“In Europe, yes
cause a fracturebetween some countries that already have more than 20% electrification, and another half that includes Spain, in which it does not even reach 10%,” says López-Tafall.
The president of the National Association of Vehicle Sellers and Repairers (Ganvam) speaks in the same vein. For Raúl Palacios, it is necessary “to refocus policies on decarbonisation, since they cannot stop the aging of the park and, despite being led by a progressive government, exclude large parts of the population from the mobility model that, for economic reasons they don’t have access to an electric vehicle.”
In addition, they ask this association to the government to guarantee European funds
supporting the digital transformation of the 42,000 SMEs and 35,000 self-employed in the sale and repair of vehicles “currently, and without any justification, outside the distribution of aid.” They insist on the need to launch a new call for automotive PERTE, including support for sellers and repairers; an initiative that already has the support of the People’s Party.
From Ganvam, they highlight the economic and labor risk of the Ministry of Industry’s strategy, arguing that “looking the other way
jeopardizes 20,000 businesses and 70,000 jobspractically the equivalent of all jobs generated by manufacturing in Spain”.
Van Faconauto, the employers’ association that integrates the associations of official dealers, is not considering
a trend break in the market of the automotive sector with a view to 2023 and expects registrations in our country to grow only by 5%. From his point of view, “the situations that affected vehicle sales in 2022 are not expected to be resolved in the short term, mainly the delivery deadline, due to a lack of stock that has determined dealer activity. In addition, the price of fuel and of the vehicles themselves will be conditions that will continue to determine the future of the market. Similarly, the current context of high inflation, rising interest rates and household uncertainty will continue to weigh on the Spanish people’s ability to consume, especially for the fourth consecutive year.
They also demand imminent actions from the municipalities since 2023
of more than 50,000 inhabitants they will have to present their measures for the implementation of Low Emission Zones (ZBE). According to the National Business Association of Rental Vehicles (Aneval), the ZBE will “affect 149 municipalities in which 25 million Spaniards live, 53% of the inhabitants of Spain, but only twenty, 13%, have begun to present its plans.”
For this reason, they demand measures that are defined at the national level, as the guidelines to follow will be
competence of each municipality “The proof of the absence of a common framework that makes it possible to know clearly the restrictions on the access, movement and parking of vehicles classified according to their level of emissions.”
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
