Spain bucks trends with another month of registration growth

11 March 2025

While other markets faltered again in February, Spain saw registration figures rise for the sixth consecutive month. Autovista24 special content editor Phil Curry explores the reasons for the market’s resilience.

Spain’s new-car market continues to defy the slump being seen across Europe, with another month of growth in February.

While the rest of Europe’s big five markets saw declines, Spain’s registrations increased by 11%, according to ANFAC’s latest report. A total of 90,327 deliveries were recorded in February, a swing of 8,977 units compared to the same period last year.

The country’s new-car success contrasts starkly with the markets of France, Germany, Italy and the UK. Each of these countries has begun 2025 with losses in both months of the year so far. However, Spain has seen a rise of 8.4% across January and February, with 162,658 registrations, according to Autovista24 calculations.

‘There are economic factors that are facilitating this good performance. Economic indicators remain positive, and growth revisions are usually upwards,’ highlighted Ana Azofra, regional head of valuation and insights at Autovista Group.

‘Spain has an improved gross domestic product, employment rate and consumer confidence,’ she added. ‘But it is important to highlight the importance of the Reinicia Auto+ plan, specifically for those affected by the floods in Valencia. Without these specific sales, growth in February would have been 5.8% instead of 11%.’

Spain leads the way

February was the sixth month of positive figures in succession for the country. In the same period, France, Germany and the UK have only seen one month of improvement combined, while Italy has been on a run of seven consecutive losses.

Spain’s total volumes are often the smallest of the big five markets. Yet its robustness, as others face challenges, suggests it could remain the strongest new-car market in Europe.

‘Vehicle registrations in February maintain their positive trend, a trend that we saw in January, but it should be noted that we are comparing with February 2024, which was not particularly good for registrations,’ commented Raúl Morales, communications director at FACONAUTO.

February 2024, while seen as a poor month, was still up 9.9% year on year. While other markets struggle with uptake, Spain’s automotive sector will be hoping its growth does not slow.

Hybrids remain popular

Spain’s strong figures were helped by a big uptake of hybrid vehicles, made up of both full and mild hybrids. Registration numbers for the powertrain were up 39% in February, equating to a rise of 11,173 units, according to Autovista24 calculations.

The technology was responsible for 44.1% of total registrations in the country during the month. This was a rise of 8.9 percentage points (pp) compared to the same period last year. Its share was slightly down compared to January. Yet, hybrids still dominated the new-car market in the country.

The strong growth was reflected in the year-to-date figures. Across January and February, hybrids saw a rise of 31.6% or 17,388 units. A total of 72,464 deliveries have been made, giving a market share of 44.5%.

At the same point in 2024, hybrid technology was just sitting behind petrol in terms of volume. The gap between the market-leading fuel type and the electrified technology was 1,566 units. Looking at the figures 12 months later, hybrids claimed a lead of 23,159 units over the first two months of the year.

This is indicative of Europe’s new-car market at present. Registrations of petrol models, which once conquered the continent, are struggling. Across last year, hybrid technology, helped by an increase in mild-hybrid additions, has led the way.

Petrol struggles continue

As hybrid registrations rise, the internal-combustion engine (ICE) market has suffered in Spain. Petrol registrations dropped by 14.3% last month, as 27,983 new models took to the country’s roads.

This left the technology with a market share of 31%, a drop of 9.1pp. The powertrain remained the country’s second-most popular technology, but its distance to hybrid has significantly widened.

Across the first two months of the year, petrol registrations fell by 13% to 49,305 units, based on Autovista24 calculations. The fuel type’s market share also dropped significantly in this period, down 7.5pp to 30.3%.

Diesel popularity wanes

Diesel registrations declined by 37.7% in the month to 5,158 units. The fuel type has struggled in most markets across recent years. Yet, in Spain, it has constantly been ahead of both battery-electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) figures.

However, this trend started to change in December 2024, as BEVs overtook the fossil fuel. Then in January, both BEV and PHEV volumes ended the month higher, a feat repeated in February.

Therefore, diesel’s market share was the lowest of the major powertrains last month. It captured 5.7% of total deliveries, down 4.5pp year on year. This was mirrored in its year-to-date numbers. Diesel registrations declined 35.9%, with 10,133 registrations. This gave the powertrain a 6.2% market share, down 4.3pp.

The negative results equate to a combined ICE decline of 19.1% in the month. While taking a dominant 50.3% of the market in February 2024, last month it made up just 36.7% of overall volumes. This highlights both the switch in buyer attitudes and carmaker ranges.

Across the first two months of the year, ICE registrations were down 18%. The powertrain grouping recorded an 11.8pp drop in market share to 36.5%.

Electric dreams in Spain

In terms of growth, BEVs saw the greatest gains in February. The all-electric technology saw 6,115 deliveries, up 60.8% year on year.

This figure is still some way behind numbers in France, Germany and the UK. It is closer to Italy though and shows improving interest in the technology. The powertrain took a 6.8% market share in the month, up from a share of 4.7% in the same period last year.

Across the first two months of 2025, BEV volumes increased by 55%. A total of 11,127 units took to Spanish roads, up 3,947 compared to the same period last year. The technology’s market share of 6.8% was up 2pp year on year.

Meanwhile, PHEVs also had a positive February, outperforming BEV registrations in terms of volume. A total of 6,901 units left dealerships, up 24.1%. This meant the powertrain took a 7.6% market share, up 0.8pp.

So far in 2025, PHEV registrations have improved by 19.7%, with 12,143 registrations. The share of 7.5% is up 0.7pp compared to the same period in 2024.

However, there are challenges ahead. At the end of January, the Spanish Government voted to overturn a Royal Decree. Made in December 2024, the decree looked to extend the MOVES III incentive scheme to June 2025.

Grouped together

The strength of BEVs and PHEVs last month meant that Spain’s electric vehicle (EV) market saw an improvement of 39%. The technology took a 14.4% share of total registrations, up from 11.5% a year prior. In the year to date, EV deliveries were up by 34.3%, with a 14.3% market share, up 2.8pp.

‘February has been a very good month for electrification. It has followed the positive trend of January and registrations for the month reached 14% of the market share,’ commented José López-Tafall, general director of ANFAC.

‘But we cannot be complacent, since these first two months of 2025 are a reflection of the sales that took place at the end of 2024 and that are now materialising. The reality is that not having a plan to help the purchase of pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles is conditioning the market and stopping many orders.

‘The positive trend of January and February is what we would like to have throughout the year, but to achieve this, either a retroactive aid plan is put in place again or we will experience a significant drop in the electrified market, as happened in Germany last year,’ he concluded.

Combining EVs with the popular hybrid market shows that Spain is increasingly embracing electrification. This group saw a 39% rise in registrations with a combined total of 52,814 units. It dominated the market, making up 58.5% of deliveries in the month, up 11.8pp compared to February 2024.

In the first two months of the year, electrified registrations grew 32.2%, with 95,734 deliveries, up by 23,337 units. Its 58.9% market share was up from 48.3%.