Chinese vehicle tops car sales in Spain in July

MADRID -- The petrol-powered MG ZS, manufactured by MG Motor, a brand of China's automaker SAIC Motor, topped car sales in Spain in July, according to data published by Spanish automotive industry on Thursday.

Throughout the month, a total of 2,619 units of the MG ZS were sold, representing a market share of 8.69 percent, according to the Spanish Association of Car Manufacturers (ANFAC), the Association of Dealers of the Automotive sector (FACONAUTO) and the Association of Car Dealers (GANVAM).

The electric model of the same Chinese brand, the MG4, was the second best-selling of its kind in Spain, with 303 units sold, representing a market share of 7.92 percent, with sales growing almost six percent since last year.

The increase comes despite a 4-percent decline in Spain's electrified car market last month, according to the data.

In the petrol vehicle sector, the Chinese Chery Automobile model Omoda 5 has become the seventh best-selling car of its kind in less than a year since its debut in the Spanish market.

The model accounted for 1,015 sales and "once again, the vast majority of them (81 percent) have been destined for the private channel," the company said in a statement sent to Xinhua.

In July, the Spanish passenger car market increased by 3.4 percent, with a total of 83,979 units sold, confirming the upward trend of recent months. But sales are still below the 100,000 units, a figure last reached in July 2019, before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The industry suffered a four-percent decline in the market for electrified cars in July, with 8,242 units sold. The market share of electric and plug-in hybrids equally fell to 9.8 percent of the overall market.

Electrified and plug-in electric vehicles are still not taking off in Spain, with their share stagnating at around 10 percent of registrations, said FACONAUTO's director of communications, Raul Morales.

Jose Lopez-Tafall, director general of ANFAC, pointed out that "we are still at a lower figure than we should be registering and that puts us a long way from the 20 percent average that is registered in Europe."

He said that the development of Spain's public access charging network and fiscal incentives for purchasing electric cars, both for companies and individuals, are still necessary to encourage the growth of the electric vehicle sector.