With 9,635 light commercial vehicles registered in March, the sector registered a drop of 46.6%% and an overall decline in the first quarter of 35.8% according to the latest figures released by la Asociación Española de Fabricantes de Automóviles y Camiones (ANFAC).In better news, however, industrial vehicles, and buses saw a 3.1% increase on March 2021’s standpoint as it rounded off Q1 6.1% ahead.
Rise in Energy Prices, a General Strike in Spain, Scarcity of Parts and Ukraine Conflict Create a Perfect Storm of Problems for Spanish Commercial Vehicle Market
It’s fair to say that March proved a difficult month for the Spanish commercial vehicle market. Tania Puche of Grupo Autónomo Nacional de Vendedores de Automóviles, Camiones y Motocicletas (GANVAM) commented, "Registrations are still low and have closed for the first quarter of the year with volumes practically half of what is typical for the market. The scarcity of microchips added to the rise in fuel prices which was aggravated further by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused a climate of uncertainty making consumers postpone their purchase decision.”
With 9,635 light commercial vehicles registered over the course of the month, this is significantly down from the 18,024 units at the same point last year. This is reflected across every region in Spain with drops recorded throughout the country. The Comunidad de Madrid recorded 4,192 units in March which was 41% down on March 2021, with Cataluña a distant second with 1,189 units (52.5% below 2021).
Putting together the three months, the first quarter has seen 26,023 light commercial vehicles registered which thus represents a 35.8% drop. The Comunidad de Madrid scored 10,428 of those registrations and Cataluña in second place with 3,443 registrations, which the two regions 30.8% and 40% in arrears.
In comparison, industrial vehicles and buses are performing better than what has been seen from the light commercial vehicle sector in 2022. With 1,979 industrial vehicles and 266 buses recorded in March, the two segments saw a a 4.8% decrease for industrial vehicles and a very strong 168.7% increase for buses as 2,245 units were recorded for the two sectorsagainst 2,177 for March 2021.
The Comunidad de Madrid also scored first place for most registrations in March, with industrial vehicles and buses combined totalling 441. With 339 registrations, Andalucía came second, just etching out Cataluña with 324 units recorded.
For the first quarter, there were 6,554 units recorded in 2022, making for a 6.1% overall increase on 2021. Breaking down the figures further, this was supported by a 57.3% increase for buses and 2.9% for industrial vehicles. The increase in the bus registrations may signal increasing confidence from tourists and commuters as public transport looks to regain its pre-pandemic position.
