Chinese car brands boost Spanish market: auto association head

BARCELONA -- Chinese car brands should be welcomed in Spain as they make the market more dynamic, the president of the National Association of Vehicle Dealers (Ancove) told Xinhua in an interview on Tuesday.

"We are very happy that more Chinese brands are coming here; the more brands there are ... which has an effect on making vehicle prices more competitive and creating a more dynamic market," Eric Iglesias said.

In August and September last year, the MG ZS became the first Chinese vehicle to top sales in Spain. The model finished the year as the fourth best-selling car overall, with MG ending the year in 15th place among the best-selling car brands in Spain, Iglesias told Xinhua.

Chinese car brands currently have a 4 percent share of the Spanish market, and this figure is expected to grow, according to a recent study by the Coches.com trade website.

"We will see the arrival of new Chinese brands in Spain, while those that are already here will over time continue to expand their niches in the Spanish market, and we forecast that Chinese brands will continue to increase in the next few years," Iglesias added.

Asian brands in general are expected to increase their market share in Spain in the next few years. A recent study from the consulting firm MSI predicted that by 2030, cars from China, India, Japan and South Korea will make up 29.5 percent of the Spanish market.

2023 was broadly positive for car sales in Spain, as the auto sector continued to recover from the pandemic years. The number of new cars registered was 949,359, a rise of 16.7 percent, and higher than the 15.7 percent figure for the European Union as a whole.