In Spain, light commercial vehicle registrations fell 8.1% this month compared to November 2019, to 15,627 units, while commercial vehicles registered a slight decline of 0.6%, with 2,693 units. The three signatory associations, ANFAC, FACONAUTO and GANVAM jointly warn of the serious risk for the sector of the increase in the Registration Tax in January 2021.
Spain’s Vehicle Sales Maintain a Negative Trend
The negative trajectory continues in all vehicle segments and sales channels for November 2020. The second wave of the pandemic and the associated severe economic and social crisis is deepening the decline in sales in all markets.
In November, 15,627 light commercial vehicles were registered, 8.1% less than in the same month last year. This year, there has been an overall decline of 28.7%, with 141,487 units. The rental segment registered an increase in the month of 19.9%, to 2,268 units. The self-employed segment fell by about 14.8% and companies, by 9.6% in the month of November.
Registrations of commercial vehicles, buses, coaches and minibuses fell 0.6% during November, with 2,693 delivered units. This accumulates to a decline of 25.8% in the penultimate month of the year with a total of 19,653 registered vehicles. Industrial vehicles have cut their deliveries by 1% this month, with 2,470 units sold. Buses, coaches and minibuses maintain their fall in their sales in November, with a reduction of 4.7% and 223 units delivered.
In relation to the obtained figures for the month of November, the sector’s three associations, ANFAC, FACONAUTO and GANVAM, have declared the following:
"The three associations that represent the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of vehicles in Spain, ANFAC, FACONAUTO and GANVAM, want to jointly express our concern for the unfortunate situation in which the vehicle market has been in the last year, with a cumulative drop in registrations of 35% up to November. The way out of this situation, as a result of the evolution of the pandemic and the associated economic crisis, will be made more difficult from January 2021 due to the increase in the Registration Tax.
"Half of the vehicles sold in 2021 will have their taxation increased at the time of purchase due to the launch of the European WLTP regulation, which represents a new way of measuring CO2 emissions and therefore impacts the tax. Registration, which is paid based on these emissions. The European standard does not aim to increase taxation but to better measure vehicle emissions. In Spain, however, it does imply a 5% increase in vehicle tax. This effect does not occur in all European countries, which do not always have a registration tax, but, in those where it would, such as France and Portugal, modifications of the tax have been approved so that the WLTP works without raising taxes.
"This average increase of 5% will signify, in such a bad environment for vehicle sales already, a worsening of the situation in the sector. This will inevitably make it even more difficult to come out of the crisis, bearing in mind the consequent impact on both employment and the country's economy, as well as in the automotive value chain.
"The automotive sector accounts for 11% of GDP and employs 9% of the workforce. With the closures and restrictions caused by the pandemic, the situation has become exponentially more complex, and more so with the economic crisis of 2021. It is imperative o specify measures that entail its rapid recovery and reactivation, as well as to avoid unforeseen impacts that make stability even more difficult. We need the registration tax increase to be corrected before January 1st so that the sector can succeed and be the driver of the Spanish economy that they have always been and will be.”
The joint statement was made by Noemi Navas, Communication Director of ANFAC; Raúl Morales, Communication Director of FACONAUTO and Tania Puche, Communication Director of GANVAM.