Spanish Auto Production Reaches 5-Year High in 2014

MADRID – Auto production in Spain hit its highest level in five years in 2014 with 2.4 million assemblies, up 11.1% over 2013.

An 8.5% increase in exports and continued government subsidies contributed to the result, according to Spanish automakers group ANFAC.

ANFAC predicts awards of new models to Spanish plants could allow for a third consecutive year of increased output in 2015 to 2.6 million units. ANFAC had targeted 3 million builds by 2015 or 2016, but it appears more likely that goal won’t be reached until 2017.

Automakers and their suppliers accounted for 26,800 of the 87,500 new manufacturing jobs created in Spain in 2014, according to ANFAC data cited by the National Institute for Statistics.

The automakers group says last year’s production allowed Spain to remain Europe’s second-largest car manufacturer, and to regain ninth place worldwide.

The Spanish auto industry’s recovery is underlined by news such as Nissan’s recent expansion of production at its Zona Franca plant near Barcelona. Last week, the automaker hired 600 new employees for a weekend shift to meet demand for the NV200 light-commercial vehicle and Pulsar hatchback.

It is the first time in Nissan Spain’s 30 years of existence that a weekend shift has been added. However, one of the plant’s two assembly lines is being retooled for production of a replacement for the Navara 1-ton pickup starting late this year, so the remaining line is building not only the NV200 and Pulsar but also the electric e-NV200 and Pathfinder SUV.