Spanish Automakers Scale Back Production Forecast

MADRID – Vehicle production in Spain fell 4.5% from January to August compared with the same period of 2016, to 1,874,241 units, according to National Association of Car and Truck Manufacturers (ANFAC) data.

The result makes it unlikely Spanish automakers will assemble 3 million units in 2017, as ANFAC had predicted earlier. Monthly production from September through December would have to average about 300,000 units, a level reached this year only in March.

August production tumbled 28.5% year-on-year to 79,196 units, the lowest total for that month since 2015. According to ANFAC, several plants shut down for maintenance in a month when many Spaniards go on their yearly holidays.

Spanish exports in the year’s first eight months reached 1.6 million, or 85% of total vehicle production in the period. Exports fell 2% from the same period of 2016, with ANFAC attributing the  decline to the effect of Brexit on the U.K. market, where car registrations have fallen 2.4% in the January-August period.

The industry group also notes car registrations in Turkey, the main market for Spanish cars outside the European Union, fell 3.4% in the period.