Spain’s car industry experienced a downturn in November. The decline was largely attributed to the severe flash floods, hail and tornadoes that struck the country, Kallanish notes.
The Valencia region was particularly affected, experiencing what has been described as Europe’s most catastrophic flood-related event since 1967, resulting in at least 227 casualties. The devastation significantly disrupted production and supply chains in the automotive sector.
According to the country’s automotive association, Asociación Nacional de Fabricantes de Automóviles y Camiones (Anfac), output in November was 214,764 units, compared with 227,850 vehicles in October. This volume was also 18.1% less than in the same month in 2023. Of the total, 74.1% were gasoline and diesel-powered automobiles.
Production in the first 11 months of the year amounted to 2.23 million units, a decrease of 3.1% versus January-November last year.
“Despite November being impacted by the DANA weather phenomenon or the comparison with an atypical month in 2023, production reflects a reality: If there is not enough demand, manufacturing suffers,” says Anfac general director José López-Tafall.
Spanish vehicle exports weakened in November. Shipments were 189,064 units, down from 200,363 units in the previous month and 19.9% less than a year ago.
European markets had a 94.3% share in Spanish deliveries in November, 0.3 percentage points more on-month and 3.4 percentage points higher on-year. Eleven-month exports slipped 4.4% during the same period in 2023 to 1.98m vehicles, Anfac data show.
Todor Kirkov Bulgaria
