ARCHIVED - Car production in Spain plummeted in October
Industry insiders blame the downward trend on the supply shortage of essential microchips in Spain
The automotive industry has been flailing all year in Spain and October was no exception, with just 165,003 vehicles manufactured in the entire month, down 37.9% on the previous year, according to data from the Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers (Anfac).
So far this year, 1.76 million automobiles have been produced in Spain. This represents a 2.5% decrease compared to 2020 and a crushing drop of 26.7% compared to 2019.
According to Anfac, the dive in production has mainly been caused by the global shortage of semiconductors – microchips essential for the manufacture of cars and countless other electronic items. Added to this is the supply shortage and increased cost of raw materials, which have contributed to the slow-down of factories and have had a knock-on effect on consumer demand.
Unfortunately, there is no easy fix and the experts fear that this dire situation could continue for some time yet.
“The shortage of components and the consequent readjustment with the demand of the automotive production centres, both in Spain and in Europe, will not be solved until the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023,” Anfac has predicted.
The decline has hit the entire industry, with production of passenger cars down by 39.6% in October, while commercial and industrial vehicles fell by 30.3%.
Overall, pure electric vehicles with zero or low emissions experienced the least decline, whereas plug-in hybrids registered a sharp drop of 43.8%, possibly due to the Spanish government’s plan to move toward all-electric vehicles by 2040.
Image: Anfac
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