Spain sees another month of high new-car market growth

07 April 2026

The Spanish new-car market continues to impress, with genuine growth across the first quarter of the year. But as the country waits for new incentives, how are powertrains performing? Autovista24 special content editor Phil Curry examines the market.

Spain’s new-car market continued its upward trajectory in March, with registrations increasing once again. Last month, 130,340 new passenger models took to the country’s roads, according to ANFAC. This marked an increase of 11.7% compared to the same month in 2025.

Heading into this year, Spain had a lot of expectations placed upon it. This was because it saw the greatest year-on-year growth out of Europe’s ‘big five’ automotive markets in 2025. This includes Germany, the UK, France and Italy.

However, some of the country’s performances in the first part of 2025 were based on inflated and unnatural market growth. This included vehicle replacements after severe storms and flooding in 2024. Yet deliveries continue to power ahead this year.

‘March once again demonstrates the strong state of the market. We surpassed 130,000 sales, a figure higher than the sales for the same month in 2019,’ highlighted Félix García, director of communications and marketing at ANFAC. 

‘Even if we were to remove the impact of the DANA storm from the March 2025 sales figures, the growth would be even greater. This makes us optimistic for the end of the year. If this trend continues, we would be at around 1.2 million sales for the year’

The strong results are even more impressive considering the confusion around the country’s electric vehicle (EV) incentives programme.

The previous MOVES III scheme ended in December 2025, according to RACE. It is being replaced by the Auto+ programme under the Auto 2030 Plan, effective from January 2026, according to Spain’s Ministry of Industry and Tourism.

While €400 million in funding has already been allocated, the scheme is yet to be implemented. So, drivers are buying EVs ahead of applying for retroactive funding.

Despite the confusion surrounding EV incentives, March was the third consecutive month of overall new-car registrations improvement in Spain. The result means that after the first quarter of the year, 300,513 new cars have made their way to owners, a rise of 7.6%.

BEVs drive market in Spain

While buyers await the implementation of Spain’s new incentives, the impact on the battery-electric vehicle (BEV) market has been slight.

In March, 11,861 new all-electric models made it to the country’s roads, a rise of 46.4% year on year. This was the best increase of 2026 so far, although only up on February’s improvement by one percentage point (pp). The result gave BEVs a 9.1% market share, increasing by 2.2pp compared to March 2025, according to Autovista24 calculations.

The run of strong double-digit increases in the Spanish BEV market suggests there is still an appetite for all-electric models. Buyers can purchase now and retroactively apply for subsidies, and this seems enough to keep the market momentum moving.

Across the first quarter of 2026, BEV deliveries increased by 41.6%, with 27,273 units making their way to customers. This translated to a 9.1% market share, an increase of 2.2pp year on year.

The implementation of the Auto 2030 plan could trigger a short-term increase in BEV deliveries. This happened in early 2025, when Spain reinstated the previous MOVES III scheme.

However, just like in 2026, the government extended the programme with retroactive eligibility. This helped to sustain demand that had already been building amid uncertainty over incentive continuity.

PHEVs continue to impress

Spain’s standout performance, in terms of volume growth, once again went to plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). With a 77.5% increase compared to March 2025, the 14,859 units recorded was the powertrain’s best total of the quarter. This represented an 11.4% share of total deliveries, a rise of 4.2pp, according to Autovista24 calculations.

PHEVs have proven to be a popular choice in Spain. Deliveries continue to grow, as does the powertrain’s market share. The technology was the third most popular in March, after hybrid and petrol engines, while remaining ahead of BEVs.

After three months of the year, PHEV registrations were up 74%, as 35,693 units left dealerships. This has given the powertrain 11.9% of the market, up 4.6pp compared to the first quarter of 2025.

Combining BEV and PHEV deliveries, the EV market saw registrations rise by 62.2% in March, with 26,720 deliveries. This was good enough for a 20.5% market share. In the first quarter, the group saw volumes improve by 58.3% with 62,916 units. This presented EVs with a 20.9% market share, according to Autovista24 analysis.

Hybrids rule in Spain

Meanwhile, the hybrid market, made up of full and mild hybrid powertrains, continues to lead. In March, it was responsible for 47.5% of total registrations, a rise of 5.4pp year on year.

In the month, 61,938 units were handed over to customers, a rise of 26.2%. This was the best performance of the year for the technology in terms of volume and growth.

Between January and March, hybrid volumes grew by 18.6%, with 144,126 models delivered. This gave the powertrain a 48% hold of the market total, up 4.5pp year on year.

Adding hybrids to the EV market, total electrified registrations totalled 88,657 units in March. This equated to a rise of 35.2% compared to the same period last year. After three months, electrified registrations totalled 207,041 units, an increase of 28.4%, according to Autovista24 calculations.

Petrol declines continue

While electrified registrations soared, March saw another month of declines for internal combustion engine (ICE) models.

Petrol deliveries fell by 14.9% in the month, with 32,728 units delivered. This was the smallest percentage decrease of the first quarter, but still represented 5,738 fewer models, according to Autovista24 calculations.

Despite the decline, the fuel type was still the second-best choice in the country, with a 25.1% market share. This alone was 4.6pp ahead of the combined EV market.

In the first quarter, petrol registrations fell by 18.2%, with 71,794 deliveries. This was still good enough for a 23.9% market share, according to Autovista24 calculations. Yet the steep declines across the three-month period meant this share fell by 7.5pp.

Meanwhile, diesel deliveries dropped 23.6% in March, although this was on a smaller volume of 4,705 registrations. The fuel type recorded its lowest market share in 2026, with 3.6%. This was down 1.7pp year on year.

In the first quarter, diesel volumes were down 26.7%, with 11,931 registrations. The powertrain took a 4% share of the total volume in the period, a drop of 1.8pp.

ICE gap closes in Spain

Combining petrol and diesel, the ICE market struggled in March with a 16.1% fall, as 37,434 units made their way to customers. The technology recorded a 28.7% hold of the monthly total. However, this marked a drop of 9.5pp year on year, according to Autovista24 analysis.

This share was 8.2pp higher than that of EVs. While there is a distance between the two powertrain groups, this gap has dropped from 24.1pp recorded in the third month of 2025.

In the first three months of 2026, ICE registrations fell by 19.5%, with 83,726 combined deliveries. The technology’s share of 27.9% was 9.3pp down year on year. However, ICE was still ahead of EVs by 7pp. This gap fell from 23pp recorded after three months of 2025.

An older fleet

While the country waits for the Auto 2030 Plan to be implemented, there may be a natural push towards electrification. High oil prices are causing increased fuel costs in much of Europe, and Spain is no exception.

This could impact the market. The country’s car parc is predominantly made up of older vehicles, which are less fuel-efficient. Should the situation continue, it could mean drivers look to swap their older models for newer ones.

‘What is already clearly having an impact is the increase in fuel prices, and it is affecting the weakest segment of the market. This is cars over 10 years old, which are less efficient and have higher running costs,’ commented Raúl Morales, communications director of dealership group FACONAUTO.

‘In fact, we estimate that if this situation continues over the next 12 months, these vehicles will face an additional fuel cost of around €4 billion,’ he outlined.

Meanwhile, Spain’s Sustainable Mobility Law entered into force in December 2025, as reported by DLA Piper. This establishes a broad framework to promote low-emission transport.

‘Decarbonising is not just about electrification. Considering the age of the vehicle fleet, which has already reached 14.6 years, there is an urgent need to complement the demand-boosting strategy with the development of the national renewal plan,’ said Tania Puche, communications director at GANVAM.

‘This was contemplated in the Sustainable Mobility Law, which is already a month behind schedule,’ she concluded.