Madrid (EFE).- Vehicle production grew by 8.1% in January compared to the same month in 2022, with 194,553 units manufactured, according to data released this Thursday by the Anfac vehicle manufacturers association.
Despite the fact that the employers observe in this data “some recovery” in the production chains, they affirm that “it is not yet possible to speak of recovery” due to the comparison with 2019, which presents a decline of about 20% and 10, 8% compared to 2021.
“These positive data respond, on the one hand, to the fact that production at the beginning of 2022 had a strong setback,” says Anfac.
The other point of view refers to the fact that the automotive industry “continues to be marked by intermittent problems in the supply of parts in factories and bottlenecks caused by distribution problems,” says the employer.
These circumstances “could limit” the export capacity this year, confirms Anfac, so it considers the possibility of “being cautious when talking about a possible improvement in the short term.”
In January and by type of vehicle, the manufacture of passenger cars and SUVs accounted for 150,467 units, 8.8% more than in the same month of 2022.
The production during the past month of commercial and industrial vehicles increased by 6.1% compared to January of the previous year, with a total of 44,086 units.
Exports recover
The production and export capacity of the factories continues to recover from the microchip crisis and the economic uncertainty derived from the war in Ukraine, analyzes Anfac.
In his report, during January a total of 170,346 units have been sent outside our borders, 6.2% more than in the same month of 2022.
The employer believes that these positive data “do not faithfully reflect” the reality of the sector, whose exports, it adds, are affected by the logistics situation and its difficulties in road and maritime transport “that impact the distribution chain throughout Europe and, therefore, of Spain”.
In January, destinations in Europe accounted for almost 91% of vehicle shipments, with a slight increase of 0.5 percentage points compared to the same month last year.
France heads the list, followed in this order by Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Turkey.
Low emissions, one in five
One in five vehicles manufactured in January corresponded to the zero and low emissions category (electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, conventional hybrids, natural gas and LPG).
Specifically, the production of this type of vehicle increased by 58.7% in January in the interannual rate, with 37,773 units, representing 19.4% of the market share.
Electrified vehicles reached a production of 27,973 units, 41% more and a share of 14.4% of the total (3.3 percentage points more); the manufacture of non-plug-in hybrid vehicles increased by 299.3% in January (7,767 units) and that of natural gas vehicles fell (55.9% less and 215 units).
Anfac warns in a note that the sector is going through a “complex situation that can be seen even more affected if the Euro 7 regulation is finally approved, which directly impacts a large part of the vehicle production in our factories.”
Its general director, José López-Tafall, recalls “the urgency of promoting” electrification in Spain and the 2023-2025 roadmap that includes, he assures, a battery of measures “urgently to be taken starting this year and essential for not to be left behind with respect to the European leaders in electromobility”.
