Spain September 2020: Seat Leon #1, Hyundai Kona, VW T-Cross hit records in deteriorating market (-13.5%)

First pole position at home for the new generation Seat Leon.

As the country is engulfed in a second coronavirus wave triggering the return partial lockdowns, notably in the capital Madrid, the Spanish new car market continues to worsen with September volumes down -13.5% year-on-year to 70.729 registrations following a -10.1% drop in August. This leads to a year-to-date tally down -38.3% to 595.435. This weak result means we have updated our 2020 Spain Forecast down from 897.000 (-31%) last month to 875.000 (-33%). All sales channels drop by the double-digits in September, with private sales faring best at -10.6% to 36.555 and 51.7% share vs. 50% a year ago, followed by company sales down -13.9% to 30.324 and 42.9% share vs. 43.1% in September 2019 whereas rental sales remain depleted at -31.7% to 3.850 and 5.4% share vs. 6.9%. Year-to-date, private registrations are off -31.4% to 298.804, company sales drop -32.7% to 214.999 and rental sales dive -61.2% to 81.632.

The Hyundai Kona climbs to a record 4th place in Spain in September.

Volkswagen (-11%) falls slightly slower than the market to retain the brands top spot at 8.1% share, keeping Seat (-22%) and Peugeot (-33.7%) at bay. Toyota (-6%) outperforms the market but drops one spot on August to #4 while at #5 Kia (+9.7%) continues to ignore the depressed context to lodge one of only two year-on-year gains in the Top 10 alongside Nissan (+1.1%) at #10. Mercedes (-1.4%) and Hyundai (-2.8%) also post solid scores but Renault (-33.8%) and Citroen (-16.2%) freefall. Outside the Top 10, Dongfeng Sokon (+137.5%), DR Motor (+100%), Ssangyong (+46%), Suzuki (+33.3%), DS (+30.1%), Tesla (+24.9%), Maserati (+15.8%), Honda (+15.3%), Fiat (+15.1%), Skoda (+10.4%), Land Rover (+7.8%), Jeep (+5.1%), Dacia (+4.5%) and Lexus (+3.1%) all buck the negative trend with upticks.

First Top 10 finish for the VW T-Cross in Spain.

Over in the models ranking, the Seat Leon (+35.5%) finally reclaims the top spot for the first time since last March, with the difficult start of the new generation which now seemingly a thing of the past. The Dacia Sandero (+39.4%) slides down to #2 and the Nissan Qashqai (-14.3%) remains at #3, meaning the September podium matches the YTD order. The Hyundai Kona (+35.9%) leaps up 6 spots on August to a record #4 in what is only its third appearance in the Spanish Top 10 after last March (#9) and August (#10). The Toyota C-HR (+43.7%) surges year-on-year but drops one spot on last month to #7 while the VW T-Cross (+60%) breaks into the Top 10 for the first time in Spain at #10, eclipsing its previous best of #14 set last February. The Peugeot 2008 (-9%) is the only additional Top 10 nameplate outpacing the market, with the Renault Clio (-45.3%), VW Golf (-33.8%) and Peugeot 3008 (-24.2%) all taking a harsh hit. The Ford Puma is the only recent launch to make it into the Top 100, it is followed by a new arrival: the VW ID.3 landing at #109.

Previous month: Spain August 2020: Kia (+26.2%), BMW (+18.7%) soar, VW Tiguan breaks record, sales return to negative (-10.1%)

One year ago: Spain September 2019: Peugeot and Renault Clio top market artificially up (+20.7%)

Full September 2020 Top 50 All-brands and Top 270 All-models below.