Sales of the passenger car and SUV market have fallen by 13.22% in the Canary Islands this January, compared to the same month of 2023, with 3,224 units registered. By channel, there is a sharp drop in the business channel of almost 56%. This is mainly because rental companies are starting to regularize their registrations in this channel and not through the business channel as they had been doing in previous months.
In addition, Canary Islands dealerships are still making great efforts with promotions, and the good news is that the private market is growing by 19% with a figure of 2,033 private vehicles. These figures demonstrate that the need to approve an aid plan for the sector, as other Spanish autonomous communities are doing, is becoming more acute every month.
For the president of Faconauto Canarias, Manuel Sánchez, it is important that the Government of the Canary Islands understands the "need to launch an aid plan" for the automotive sector in the islands: "We are starting the year with a drop in sales in the passenger car and SUV segment of 13.22%. We have been advocating for some time the need to approve an aid plan for the renewal of the fleet, and this first month of the year corroborates this. A plan that other autonomous communities have already approved, such as Galicia, where exhibition traffic has been significantly activated."
Recently, the employers' association met with the Minister of Ecological Transition of the Government of the Canary Islands, Mariano Hernández Zapata, with a draft on the PASAC plan (Aid Plan for the Automotive Sector). After that meeting, the Canary Islands executive has committed to continue working hand in hand to launch it.
In the rest of the markets, commercial vehicles grew by 50%, with 733 units registered. This is a "significantly high growth, but it must be qualified that last year, that is, in January 2023, we had major stock problems" with this type of vehicle: "We have gone from nothing to normal," explains Sánchez.
In the case of industrial vehicles and buses, the same thing is happening. Last January, 71 vehicles were registered, which represents a growth of 42%. Sales of motorcycles and mopeds grew by 21.33% compared to January 2023, with 1,058 units registered.
If we compare the total market in January 2024, that is, all segments, with respect to 2024, we see no growth, a 0.68% drop, so that as of today, the market growth throughout 2024 will not exceed 10% compared to last year, hence the need to "activate an autonomous plan now", highlights Manuel Sánchez.