Spanish Oct. sales fall 21%; Q4 could get lift from looming tax hike

Spanish new-car sales fell 21 percent to 59,044 in October, according to the industry group ANFAC, as automakers continue to struggle with a shortage of components including semiconductors.

Despite the result, dealer group Faconauto sees some encouraging signs based on incoming orders as customers adapt to the realization that they will have to wait longer for cars.

Faconauto also predict improved sales before year-end from car buyers who want to avoid a registration tax increase planned for Jan. 1 2022.

Despite an easing of restrictions following last year's lockdowns, October sales were 37 percent below the pre-pandemic level of 2019.

Registrations to private customers fell by 18 percent to 31,066, while business sales declined 27 percent to 24,249. Sales to rental companies were up 29 percent to 3,729.

Dealer group Ganvam said a shortage of components means "deliveries of orders processed by distribution networks currently take six to eight months on average."

The group forecasts that this year "will be another black year for the automotive industry after the blow of the pandemic, with closing figures below 900,000 units."

Sales in 2020 fell 32 percent to 851,211. Overall sales for the first 10 months were up 5.6 percent to 706,998. The figure is 33 percent lower than the same period in 2019.

October's decline followed a 16 percent drop in September and a 29 percent decline in August.

Despite the market's overall decline, a number of brands recorded gains. Among volume automakers, Hyundai and Kia saw sales grow by 57 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

Hyundai was the most popular brand in October, with 5,844 sales, Peugeot was second with 5,547 (-8.7 percent), and Kia finished third with 5,254.

Among smaller brands, Porsche posted a 30 percent gain, SsangYong grew by 32 percent and Suzuki increased sales by 4.8 percent.

The Peugeot 2008 small crossover was the most popular model last month, followed by the Hyundai Tucson compact SUV with the Dacia Sandero small hatchback rounding out the top three.

Sales of Volkswagen Group's core brand, VW, fell 38 percent, while Seat sales dipped 53 percent and Skoda was down 29 percent.

Within Stellantis, Citroen fell 16 percent and Opel declined 10 percent. Fiat's volume slipped 33 percent, while Jeep dropped 32 percent. Alfa Romeo was down 31 percent.

Ford sales were down 34 percent, while Renault fell 26 percent and Dacia suffered a 39 percent decline.

Toyota volume fell 26 percent, with rival Nissan seeing a 33 percent decline.

Among premium brands, Mercedes-Benz sales fell 34 percent, BMW 37 percent and Audi dropped 42 percent.

Sales of full-electric vehicles rose by 32 percent year-on-year, resulting in a 4 percent market share, which was lower than the 4.9 percent share in September, but higher than the 2.4 percent share in October 2020.

The Dacia Spring was Spain's most popular EV in October, with 261 registrations, followed by the Kia Niro and Fiat New 500.

The Tesla Model 3, which had a volume of 720 units in September, dropped to 17 last month. The U.S. EV maker typically shows much higher deliveries in the final month of each quarter.

Plug-in hybrids had a 7.1 percent share, up from 3.4 percent in October 2020. Sales of full-hybrid vehicles rose 33 percent for a 29.4 percent market share, compared with a 17.6 percent share in October 2020.

Sales of gasoline-powered cars were down 30 percent for a 40.3 percent share, which was down 5.2 percentage points from September 2020.

Diesel sales dropped 51 percent for a 17.6 percent share, down 11.1 percentage points year-on-year.

LPG-powered vehicles had a 1.5 percent market share.