Spain 1st Half 2016: Opel surprise leader in market back to 2008 level

Opel shoots up 22% to become the #1 brand in Spain so far in 2016. 

* See the Top 50 All-brands and Top 390 All-models by clicking on the title *

This is the first of a series of H1 2016 updates covering the Top 15 largest car markets in the world, that will be published all through July as data becomes available. The Spanish new car market has now almost returned to its pre-recession levels, with a 12% gain over the first half of 2016 bringing it to 626.756 units, its highest level since 2008 (702.503) which was 18% down on 2007 (852.197). Nearly there. Mitigating this performance is the fact that “artificial” channels have down the heavy lifting in Spain so far this year: company sales are up 17% o 134.930 and 25.1% share and rental sales are up 14.5% to 140.811 or 25.7% share. In contrast, private sales are up just 9% to 282.821, pulling their market share below the symbolic 50% mark to 49.2% vs. 50.6% a yea ago.

Mainly thanks to the CX-3, Mazda posts one of the biggest year-on-year gains at +47%. 

The brands ranking gives us a surprise: thanks to deliveries up a flamboyant 22%, German manufacturer outpaces rival Volkswagen (+2%) to take charge with 53.776 units and 8.6% share vs. 49.518 and 7.9% for VW. Renault (+10%) and Peugeot (+19%) follow, both overtaking local carmaker Seat, down a harsh 7% and dropping three spots to #5. Citroen (+17%), Audi (+21%) and Kia (+24%) also beat the market inside the Top 10 while Ford struggles at -12%. Fiat (+24%), BMW (+23%), Mercedes (+26%), Mazda (+47%), Volvo (+30%) and Honda (+45%) are strong, Suzuki (+73%) and Jaguar (+209%) take off.

Can the Seat Leon top the annual Spanish charts for a third consecutive year? 

In the models aisle, the Seat Leon could be headed to a third consecutive year of reign as it leads again at the halfway mark with 19.808 deliveries (+1%) but its advantage over its little sister the Seat Ibiza (19.263) remains slim. The Opel Corsa (+23%) advances to third place overall, overtaking both the VW Polo (+8%) and Golf (+3%) now threatened by the Peugeot 308 up 42% to 13.922 sales. The Renault Captur continues to gallop ahead at +24% to #12, followed closely by the Opel Mokka (+34%) and Kia Sportage (+21%) just as the Hyundai Tucson lands directly at #16 with a stunning 9.284 sales, the Renault Kadjar shoots up to #27 and the Fiat 500X to #47. Among other all-new launches, the Mercedes GLC (#73) and Honda HR-V (#99) are the only ones to make it into the Top 100, with the Fiat Tipo (#105) and Renault Talisman (#112) just missing out.

Previous post: Spain June 2016: Renault and Seat Ibiza lead market up 11%

One year ago: Spain 1st Half 2015: Seat Leon above Ibiza in market up 23%

Full H1 2016 Top 50 All-brands and Top 390 All-models vs. full H1 2015 figures below.