Spain April 2021: Seat Arona delivers first ever win in market down -34.2% on two years ago

The Seat Arona is #1 at home for the first time.

The Spanish new car market surges 1787% year-on-year in April to 78.595, a meaningless growth figure that reflects the strict lockdown of April 2020 when only 4.163 vehicles were registered. The year-to-date volume is now up 18.8% to 264.655 units. A more realistic comparison set is April 2019, and this time the market is down a harsh -34.2% and at -39.3% year-to-date. Looking at registration channels, private sales are down -35% on April 2019 to 29.349, company sales down -20.5% to 28.954 and rental sales down -46.5% to 20.292. The uncertainty surrounding vaccinations, multiple waves of infections, the absence of stimulus for the purchase of a car and low consumer morale all contribute to the poor result of the month.

All evolutions below are compared with April 2019. In the brands ranking, Seat (-24.7%) reclaims the top spot for the second time this year at a very strong 11.7% share but in the year-to-date ranking it remains below Peugeot (-44.4%) down to #3 for the month. Volkswagen (-17.1%) scores the best hold in the Top 5 and leaps three spots on March to #2 overall with 9.4% share. Toyota (-17.3%) and Renault (-53.1%) round out the Top 5 while Kia (-7.2%) is the best performer in the Top 10 and climbs two spots on last month to #6. Audi (-25.8%) also outpaces the market in the remainder of the Top 10 and soars four ranks on March to #8. Below, Volvo (+4.1%) and Cupra (+1041.3%) are the only year-on-year gainers in the Top 30.

Model-wise, the Seat Arona (+29.2%) scores its first ever monthly win at home with 3.8% share as the transition towards the facelifted model begins.  Same situation for the Seat Ibiza (+10.5%) whose facelift was also revealed in mid-April, and that potentially benefits from rebates on the outgoing model. With the Arona and Ibiza, Seat signs an impressive 1-2 at home this month. The Peugeot 2008 (+0.7%) completes a podium entirely in positive vs. April 2019 and takes the year-to-date lead with 2.4% share. The VW Polo (-13.8%) lurches up 42 spots on March to land in 4th place above the Peugeot 3008 (-24.4%) and Dacia Sandero (-35.9%). The VW T-Cross is up 20 ranks on last month to #7, a new record for the nameplate eclipsing the #10 it reached last September, and the Fiat 500 (+7.9%) manages to be up on two years ago at #10. This month we welcome the Renault Arkana (#45) and Skoda Enyaq (#198) in the Spanish charts.

Previous month: Spain March 2021: Peugeot, Citroen top market up 128% but down -30% on two years ago

One year ago: Spain April 2020: Market down -96.5% to lowest volume ever, PSA Group holds 56.1% share

Full April 2021 Top 50 All-brands and Top 280 All-models below.