The sale of new cars is one of the indicators that show the economic situation of families and companies. When a household is forced to grit its teeth, it has no room to renew its vehicle. The same is true for medium and large companies. If 2022 was a bad year in this sense, with registrations plummeting to the lowest of the last nine years; 2023 has started on the right foot.
In the first quarter, the market grew by 44.5% and there are already almost 240,000 new passenger cars on the road. The figures are close to those prior to the pandemic. The growth was general, but especially intense in the electrified and the high-end ones.
Spain is one of the most backward countries in Europe in the electrification of the mobile fleet, but the first three months of 2023 could begin to indicate a positive trend. In March, the registrations of passenger cars moved totally or partially with electricity increased by 71.2%. 40,698 units were delivered, which meant that four out of ten vehicles sold last month were electrified. This package includes one hundred percent electric cars and plug-in hybrids. Gasoline continued in the lead with a 45% share and diesel fell to 13%.
As of today, one in every ten vehicles registered in Spain is electrified, a fact that indicates that the country, families and companies are timidly beginning to do their homework towards a sustainable vehicle fleet. BBVA Research estimated that, at the end of the year, this share will rise to 22%. It remains to be seen.
In response to the sale of electrified vehicles by brand, during the first quarter of 2023 there was a group of manufacturers that especially increased their operations. Among them is Tesla, which touched the thousand units sold. In March, for example, for every Toyota (the leading brand last month) sold, a model from the company founded by Elon Musk was registered. In other words, despite their high prices, some Tesla are beginning to enter the Spanish market with force. The sales of the Model Y stand out especially, which only last month sold 800 units. Between January and March 2023, registrations grew by 484%.
Chinese brands are also beginning to break into the Spanish market with force. MG, a former British company reinvented by the Asian giant SAIC as a manufacturer of electrified vehicles, is one of them. Its sales grew by 762% in January and in the first quarter they accumulated an increase of 500%. Something similar happens with Lynk
The sale of high-end cars also skyrocketed at the beginning of the year. The growth during the first quarter of Porsche stands out, which sold almost a thousand units, an increase of 37.5%. The most popular model was the Macan, whose simplest model is close to 70,000 euros.
Thirty Ferraris were also sold during the first three months. The most popular was the two-seater 296 GTB, with 8 registrations, whose price is around 300,000 euros. Seventeen Lamborghini were also marketed: seven of the Huracan model, which exceeds 230,000 euros, and ten of the Urus, which is around 240,000 euros. There were also 140 sales of Maserati brand models, three Lotus Emira, which exceed 100,000 euros, and ten Aston Martin.
