Madrid (EFE).- Sales of new passenger cars and SUVs increased by 8.27% in May, with 92,025 registered units, and chained their fifth upward month, thanks to the improvement in production rates that allowed orders to be met with more agility.
As reported this Thursday by the associations of automobile manufacturers, Anfac, and distributors, Faconauto and Ganvam, 404,337 units were registered in the first five months of the year, 26.9% more than in the same period of 2022, although sales They are still 28% below what they were in 2019, before the pandemic.
Registrations increased in May in all channels compared to the previous year, although in the private sector, which concentrates the majority of registrations, the entry rate was low and sales were still one third below the rate prior to the pandemic.
Sales to individuals remain 33% below 2019
Registrations increased in all channels, although in private, despite rebounding by 5.3% after the 1.9% year-on-year decrease registered in April, and reaching 36,495 units, its fall compared to 2019 was one 33%.
Purchases of new cars by individuals were the ones that grew the least in May, as acquisitions by companies slightly exceeded them, increasing by 5.4%, to 33,822 units, which placed them at similar records to 2019.
The rental channel continued to show great strength for another month, with a year-on-year increase of 19% in May, reaching a total of 21,708 registrations.
The growth of purchases by vehicle rental companies was already 78.4% in the first five months of the year compared to the same period of the previous year and totaled 75,692 registrations.
The channel with the most registrations until May was that of individuals, with 165,425, 16.8% more than in the first five months of 2022, closely followed by that of companies, with 163,220 units and an increase of 21.4%.
Toyota, the best-selling brand
The most sold brand in the month of May was Toyota, with 7,842 units, followed by Peugeot, with 6,689, and Renault, with 6,638.
In the first five months of the year, Toyota was also the brand that led sales, with 34,124 units, followed by Peugeot, with 29,711, and Seat, with 28,416.
By model, in May the Dacia Sandero, with 2,813 registered units, snatched the first place in sales of passenger cars and SUVs from the Seat Arona, which, however, remained the leader in sales in the first five months of the year, with 11,697 cars sold. .
electrified vehicles
By technology, registrations of electrified vehicles (electric plus plug-in hybrids) of all types (cars, two-wheelers, commercial and industrial) rose 55% in May, reaching 13,142 units, according to data from the Business Association for Development and Promotion of Electric Mobility (Aedive) and Ganvam.
In May, 11.4% of passenger car registrations corresponded to electrified models, and in the year sales of all types of electrified vehicles accumulated an increase of 36.7%, up to 54,093 units.
Registrations of 100% electric vehicles of all types rose 94.3% in May, with a total of 7,082 units registered, and in the first five months of the year growth was 45.4% and sales reached 28,751 units .
For their part, sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles increased by 25.4% in May, with a total of 6,060 units, adding both passenger cars and vans and heavy industrial vehicles, and accumulated a rise of 28% in the year.
The sales forecast for 2023 is extended to 950,000 units
Anfac’s Director of Communication and Marketing, Félix García, has said that they expect the year to close with around 950,000 registered units, 25,000 more than the most optimistic forecast they had in January.
For his part, Faconauto’s Director of Communication, Raúl Morales, has indicated that the recovery is being very slow and is 25% below the sales that were made in 2019, so the goal of reaching one million sales do not expect to achieve it in 2023 but in 2024.
Ganvam’s Director of Communication, Tania Puche, highlighted that in May around 90,000 units per month were reached, a figure that is close to the natural volume of the market, although purchases by individuals are 30% below the levels pre-pandemic.