Bad August for car sales in Spain

• Source: Xinhua
• [08:44 September 02 2010]
• Comments

Figures published this Wednesday show new car sales have fallen dramatically in Spain for the second month running.

The figures, which are published by the associations of producers (Anfac) and salesmen (Ganvam) show the sale of new cars in August fell by 23.8 percent, compared with the same month in 2009.

This follows a 24 percent drop in July, compared to June.

Only 44,578 new vehicles were bought in August, the lowest number of sales since 1989 - the first year in which monthly records of car sales were published in Spain.

While the overall figure for the first eight months of 2010 is still 21 percent higher than for the same period 12 months ago, that is partly due to the effects of the Government's Plan 2000E, which gave financial assistance to those wanting to buy a new vehicle.

Funds for the program ran out by the end of June and the Government's new austerity plan means the scheme will not be renewed.

Sales in the first half of the year were also aided by the fact that many potential car buyers brought their purchases forward to avoid the 2 percent increase in sales tax which came into effect on July 1.

Four-wheel-drive cars seem to have performed best in the recent downturn, with vehicles such as the Nissan Qashai and the Ford Kuga maintaining sales at a decent level.

Nevertheless, the outlook for the second half of the year continues to be bleak for car producers, with anticipated sales down 30 percent (164,000 vehicles) on the same period in 2009.

The most popular marques in Spain during August were Seat (3,677 vehicles sold) followed by Citroen and Ford. Meanwhile the most popular model was the Renault Megane.