Car production records the worst first quarter of the entire epidemic | comp

The auto industry is in the midst of a seemingly endless storm. The first big wave to hit the sector was the arrival of The epidemic that caused the collapse of production and sales in the country. The sector had hoped to return to normal once vaccines came into effect and the economy recovered, however, in the middle of last year, the microchip crisis surfaced, preventing manufacturers from producing at the rate they wanted. And when the problem was not resolved yet Semiconductor shortagecame another great effect: The war in Ukraine and its consequences for the supply chain and energy prices.

All this led to the record level of production of Spanish car factories The worst first quarter of the entire pandemic, with only 550,454 unitsWhich represents a decrease of 16.9% compared to the same period last year, according to data published, Thursday, by the Employers Association of Automobile Manufacturers, your nose. Compared to the first quarter of 2019, the last year before the pandemic, collapse 27.3%, more than a quarter. “The international uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, along with the crisis of microchips and components, determines the rhythm of production centers and demand from foreign markets,” the general manager of ANVAC said in a statement. Jose Lopez Taval.

The decrease was recorded in Walks from this year, A month marked by the transport companies’ strike, when production decreased by 20.1% compared to 2021, when only 181,401 vehicles were assembled. By vehicle type, passenger vehicle manufacturing declined 10.6% in March and down 13.6% in the quarter. However, commercial and industrial vehicles had the most declines in their production, with a decline of 48.8% in the third month of the year and 28.4% in the quarter.

Advance electrification

These successive misfortunes made the sector immersed in the shift towards the electric vehicle. Although it is still a small volume of production, the share of electric vehicles has grown compared to last year. In March, 4.4% of vehicles leaving Spanish factories were fully electricwhich is 1.2 points more than the same month in 2021. If we add the additional hybrid components to this percentage, The production of electrified cars reached a share in March of 11.8%., an increase of five points from March of the previous year. In total, Spanish factories assembled 21,543 electrified vehicles, which is an increase of 36.3%.

The other side of the coin is combustion cars, which have lost their weight in the production share in favor of electrified cars. Rebound is especially seen in the case of driven vehicles Diesel whose aggregate fell by 38.6% in March (28.3% in the quarter as a whole) to 47,589 units. for this part, Gasoline cars fell 14.5% in the month (same percentage in the quarter) 110,731 cars.

To speed up this shift towards electrification, the sector sees the key Part of the electric car Through which the government plans to mobilize more than 24,000 million euros between public and private funds. “This negative situation, which affects all of Europe in the same way, should not be an obstacle to the transformation of our industry towards the new mobility. We have an opportunity in Berti, and for this it is necessary that as soon as the funds are allocated to the various projects, their implementation is accelerated,” Lopez Taval asked.

The call to apply for Perte assistance opened on 1 April. Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism Kings MarotoHe confirmed this week that the legal team in the ministry he runs is conducting an analysis Possibility to extend the mentioned call, which tentatively expires on May 3, as specified in the State Gazette. “We can’t extend it for too long because an assessment has to be done and we want to start implementing the project in 2022. It is a window of opportunity that we are analyzing, because the companies have asked us to do so. We’re talking days, maybe a week or twoReyes Maroto noted.