New passenger car registrations in Spain from 2005 to 2023 (in 1,000 units)

Spaniards bought more new cars in 2023 than the previous year, growing to approximately 949,400 units sold. This represents an increase of 16.7 percent in comparison to 2022, thus demonstrating that auto purchases are more than a means of transport, but also an economic indicator. 

Seat: the Spanish leader

Spanish automaker Seat controls roughly a twelfth of the passenger car market there, making them one of the leading passenger car brands in that country. The demand for second-hand passenger vehicles has increased, up to close to 2.2 million used cars sold in 2022. This contrasts with the new car market, and suggests Spanish consumers are turning increasingly towards used vehicles instead of new cars. Part of this is due to a decreased automotive supply. The global automotive semiconductor shortage was accelerated as a result of market disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and challenges in accessing primary material due to Russia's war in Ukraine also impacted the supply chain. The consumer price inflation recorded in the country further contributes to consumers preferring used cars to new models. 

Car purchases: an economic indicator

A car is a big-ticket item, and many analysts use this as an indicator of consumer confidence. New car registrations go down as the unemployment rate goes up. In fact, economists use items such as new cars to calculate the consumer confidence index, a measure of how normal people feel about the economy at a given time. When this index drops, it means that the demand side of the economy is pessimistic, which can lead to a recession. As for Europe, the industry has been experiencing a shift in consumer behavior when purchasing a car. Sales of diesel models have been recording a downtrend since 2013 in all European countries, whereas hybrid models had the second largest sales share in the European Union in 2023, with battery electric vehicles also steadily increasing their presence in the market. In Spain, this amounted to a market share of 31.9 percent for non-rechargeable hybrid vehicles in 2023.