Turns out the United States isn’t the only country with a troubled automotive industry. According to Reuters, Spanish car sales fell 28.1 percent in 2008. This is the largest ever yearly drop in sales and the car industry blames the fall on Spaniards cutting back spending as Spain heads towards a recession.
The car industry group ANFAC says that December car sales in Spain were cut in half from the same period a year ago - dropping to 72,877 units sold. Like the United States, Spain’s sales have been hit hard by decreased consumer confidence and less disposable income, as well as credit restrictions.
The worst affected category continues to be multi-purpose vehicles, falling 83 percent in December as compared to a year earlier. The luxury and
sports car categories were also hit pretty hard.
A number of car manufacturers including Nissan, Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen have all announced placing a hold on factory production in Spain after seeing falling demand.
The Ford Focus is still selling strong and was the number one selling model in Spain in 2008. Lucky for Ford, they were not only the top selling brand in December, but also had the highest sales over the entire year.
Spain’s government is expected to release a car industry plan in January and the association has asked for several measures including doing away with car registration tax and improving credit conditions for car dealers. A failing scheme to boost the industry by awarding grants to scrap cars over 15 years of age is scheduled to be reformed in early 2009, according the the Industry Ministry.
The Spanish government has set aside the equivalent of $1.1 billion to aid the ailing industry as a part of a larger measure planned to help stimulate the economy.
Sound familiar? Looks like we’re not the only country experiencing the effects of a recession and a troubled car industry.
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