In Spain, 949,359 new cars were sold in 2023. Although it represents a significant increase of 16.7% compared to the previous year’s figures, the number of registrations is still far from the level it reached in the pre-pandemic years when it far exceeded one million. of units delivered. In 2019, the year before the pandemic, 1.2 million brand new cars were sold in dealerships, a respectable amount but far from the historical peak of 1.6 million units in 2005.
The economic and social context has been decisive in this partial recovery. The Covid pandemic severely affected the automotive industry, with partial factory closures, supply chain disruptions and declining demand due to mobility restrictions and economic uncertainty. But once normality is restored, sales are still far from reaching pre-pandemic levels and it is difficult to predict that they will be completely restored.
The loss of interest among young people in obtaining a driving license is a factor that is slowing down the renewal of the park. According to data from the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), 325,114 young people between 18 and 20 years old and 146,701 between 21 and 24 (471,815 in total) obtained their license in 2007, while in 2020 both bands fell respectively to 200,592 and 71,621 (272,313, in total). To this we must add the increase in the average price of a new car and the new urban mobility trends, both in terms of the use of electric bicycles and scooters and sharing options in large cities.
“We are, without a doubt, facing a changing scenario. The arrival of new ways of using the vehicle has opened up the possibility for citizens to have a wide range of possibilities for how to get around,” admits Félix García, communications director of the automobile manufacturers’ association Anfac. Despite this, he maintains that “the choice of private vehicle must always exist, because otherwise, we would be limiting the citizens’ ability to choose.”
According to the spokesperson for the manufacturers’ association, “not all of Spain are large cities like Madrid or Barcelona.” “We have to think about the emptied Spain where vehicle sharing, today, is not a choice, and citizens only have the option of moving with their private vehicle,” adds García, who delves into this situation with a very graphic example. “A young person from Madrid does not have the same needs to move as one from Santa Cristina de la Polvorosa (Zamora). While the urban youth has public transportation, car sharing, motorcycle sharing, bike sharing, scooters,… the rural youth only has a private vehicle and needs to drive first.”
The freedom that car ownership provides is an argument that is also shared by the Faconauto dealer association to emphasize moderate optimism about future prospects. “Mobility has evolved a lot in recent years, this is undeniable. Given this panorama, we must adapt offers and services to meet demand. However, we do not contemplate a future of mobility without car ownership, which acts as a guarantor of the freedom provided by the private vehicle and which will undoubtedly coexist with other mobility models,” says Raúl Morales, communications director. by Faconauto.
The dealer association emphasizes that the percentage of young people between 24 and 28 years old who have a driving license has decreased from 56% in 2010 to 50% currently. “Obviously we are concerned about this loss of interest, so we must learn to get young people hooked on private vehicles again.” Morales also highlights that new urban mobility trends must be seen “as a new opportunity for the automotive sector and not as an enemy.”
“We must respond to the needs of users. Strategic collaboration with technology companies, startups and other companies in the mobility ecosystem can serve to strengthen our sector and further diversify the offer,” says Raúl Morales.
For his part, Félix García points out that the new options offered by the market do not have to affect registrations. “The buyer profile may change, but it will not stop sales. Companies dedicated to shared mobility, carsharing or renting, require greater fleet renewal to have safer, technologically advanced, comfortable and sustainable vehicles,” says an Anfac spokesperson. “We must also take into account everyone’s mobility needs: an 80-year-old woman is not going to use a scooter and she will use a taxi or VTC service.”
Anfac highlights the high cost that the automotive industry incurs in transforming its business model from combustion vehicles to electrified vehicles, in order to meet the objectives set by the European Commission for the year 2035. “In the last year , more than 200 electrified models have been made available to users, including pure electric and plug-in hybrids. It is not a problem of supply but of demand. And here the administrations play a key role,” explains García.
The Anfac spokesperson highlights the importance of public organizations disseminating the advantages of using clean, sustainable and connected vehicles, as well as the need to be transparent and expand the scope of the financial aid offered in the Moves III plan, which rewards the acquisition of electrified vehicles. “The problem is that its management can be improved, given that it takes many months to collect the subsidy. “If the help were direct, it would be more incentive.”
Offering attractive promotions, such as discounts, special financing or other service packages to stimulate demand and attract new buyers, is the recipe that according to Faconauto manufacturers should use to energize the market and facilitate the transition towards more sustainable and efficient mobility. For Morales, it should also be a priority to “improve the customer experience from the moment of purchasing the vehicle to the after-sales service” with the aim of building user loyalty at all stages of their relationship with the brand.