Spain: passenger car sales 2005-2022

Spaniards bought fewer new cars in 2022 than the previous year, falling to approximately 813,400 units sold. This represents a decrease of 5.4 percent in comparison to 2021, thus demonstrating that auto purchases are more than a means of transport, but also an economic indicator.

Seat: the Spanish leader

Spanish auto maker Seat controls roughly a twelfth of the passenger car market there, making them one of the leading passenger car brands in that country. The demand for second-hand passenger vehicles has increased, up to close to two million used cars sold in 2021. This contrasts with the new car market, and suggests Spanish consumers turn increasingly towards used vehicles instead of new cars. Part of this is due to a decreased automotive supply. The global automotive semiconductor shortage was accelerated as a result of market disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and challenges in accessing primary material due to Russia's war in Ukraine also impact the supply chain. The consumer price inflation recorded in the country further contributes to consumers preferring used cars over new models.

Car purchases: an economic indicator

A car is a big-ticket item, and many analysts use this as an indicator of consumer confidence. New car registrations go down as the unemployment rate goes up. In fact, economists use items such as new cars to calculate the consumer confidence index, a measure of how normal people feel about the economy at a given time. When this index drops, it means that the demand side of the economy is pessimistic, which can lead to a recession. As for Europe, the industry has been experiencing a shift in consumer behavior when purchasing a car. Sales of diesel models have been recording a downtrend since 2013 in all European countries, whereas hybrid models had the second largest sales share in the European Union in 2022, with battery electric vehicles also steadily increasing their presence in the market. In Spain, this amounted to a market share of 29.44 percent for non-rechargeable hybrid vehicles in 2022.