Abstract
The government has introduced a stimulus package to boost vehicle sales, which
registered 1.36mn unit
sales in 2008, a 29.7% reduction on 2007 figures.
However, as BMI explains in its latest Spain
Automotives Report, the
market is unlikely to see the full effect of the package until May or June,
after
which some improvement can be expected.
In February, the
government approved a EUR4.1bn (US$5.3bn) domestic aid plan as a part of its
broader
economic package of EUR70bn to stimulate economic activity. This
is to be used both to help carmakers
and parts suppliers upgrade their
plants, and to promote research by existing manufacturers in the
industry.
In addition to this, a system of scrappage incentives was introduced to
encourage owners of
older vehicles to buy new cars, thereby boosting
vehicle demand in the market. Despite the scheme,
registrations fell by
nearly 49% in February to 62,107 units. The figures for January-February
reached
121,492, down by 45.5% y-o-y for passenger cars and 5.1% y-o-y for
commercial vehicles. These figures
have prompted BMI to maintain its sales
forecast to just over 1.09mn units, or falling by nearly 18-20%
year-on-year (y-o-y) by end-2009.
The market has seen some major
reshuffles in terms of its competitive landscape. Citroën' s sales made it
the top player in the industry, selling 11,933 vehicles to take a 19.2% share
of the market. The company
was followed by Renault SA, selling 11,236
units, and Peugeot, on 10,727. Although their sales have
declined by no
less than 30-50%, they have been successful in overtaking market-leader Ford
Motor and
fellow Spanish firm SEAT. They sold 10,678 and 9,561 units,
respectively, making them the fourth and
sixth biggest-sellers in the
market.
These developments do not give BMI many reasons to change the
country' s position in our Business
Environment Ratings for the quarter. We
maintain Spain' s score of 59.2 points (out of a possible 100),
which could
be improved if the market begins to show improvements.
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