Spanish automotive sector upturn continues in October

Spain’s automotive sector continued to recover in October, seeing production and exports rise on-year, Kallanish notes.

The improvement resulted from greater availability of microchips on the market and the flexibility of manufacturers to finish assembling vehicles previously delayed by a lack of parts.

“Despite the slight improvement in recent months, it is still too early to speak of a full recovery,” says national automotive association Asociación Nacional de Fabricantes de Automóviles y Camiones (Anfac). “The industry remains exposed to the microchip crisis and the uncertainty of the war in Ukraine, among other external factors.”

Output in October reached 204,988 units, an on-year growth of 24.2%. Ten-month production amounted to 1.8 million vehicles, or 2.8% more compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, a recovery in sales in major markets boosted Spanish vehicle exports. These were 171,769 units in October, up 20.4% on-year. Ten-month exports rose 1.1% over January-October 2021 to 1.54 million vehicles. Although by only a small margin, year-to-date shipments saw growth for the first time this year, Anfac confirms.

Exports represented 83.8% of the country’s total vehicle production in the month, with European markets having a 70.5% share of Spanish deliveries in October, the automotive association’s data show.

Todor Kirkov Bulgaria