Beyond pure sales figures, for the past couple of years, the big question in the new car market in Spain was almost betting on how many cars they would lead ahead of their competitors Toyota, the leading brand, and the Dacia Sandero, the preferred model among Spanish buyers.
In April, data from the associations Anfac, Faconauto, and Ganvam show that registrations of cars and 4x4s performed quite well (98,522 units, a 7% increase), even with Easter falling in this month (celebrated in March). Thus, the total is already 12.2 percentage points above the first four months of 2024 (377,889 registrations). This is largely due to the boost coming from the Valencian Community, where vehicles destroyed in the October Dana are still being replaced with truly attractive aid plans. Therefore, in the first four months of the year, Valencians have purchased 51,237 new cars, 18,000 more than in the same period of 2024. In other words, almost half of the market growth.
60.8% of MG ZS sales were with gasoline engines
Electric cars, the fastest-growing segment
Furthermore, all three buyer channels are growing strongly (individuals being the most with a 14.2% increase in the year), especially electric cars, leaving behind the period without incentives, and no longer should postponed 2024 operations due to the CAFE regulation emerge. The reactivation of Moves III has helped make it the fastest-growing technology: 71.2% (26,060 cars). Its growth rate doubles that of plug-in hybrids, the true market leaders, which already represent almost 43% of all car registrations in Spain.
All this results in an average CO2 emissions of the cars sold standing at 110.2 grams per kilometer traveled, a 6.2% decrease from a year ago.
Many of the trends seen in the last eight months are repeating with consecutive increases. However, something is changing. For example, Toyota (a leader in 2024) has reduced its registrations by 2.4% in the first four months as continuous growth was challenging. At the same time, we have witnessed a spectacular surge from Renault (improving its figures by 54.4%), supported by the success of its hybrid versions and also driven by the Renault 5, a solely electric car. The French brand is the generalist brand with the best performance, with 28,605 units, just 2,500 units behind Toyota. However, one should not be overly optimistic.
Regarding model data, the Dacia Sandero (11,972 units between January and April) is followed by the MG ZS in second place with 10,644 cars, showing a growth rate over four times that of the Renault Group's utility vehicle. This achievement is due to its affordable price and the improvements made last year, including a plug-in hybrid variant. In third place, with only 8,010 vehicles, is the Seat Ibiza.
We mentioned that one of the keys to Renault's progress lies in the 5 E-Tech. Although not cheap, lacking space, and not suitable for long trips due to its range, its design and fun driving experience are captivating thousands of customers. In April, it became the best-selling electric car in Spain, surpassing by just three units (519 vs. 516 units) the other major phenomenon in this category: the Kia EV3. Between January and April, the Tesla Model 3 remains at the top of the ranking (with 2,380 registrations), followed by KIA (1,808 cars) and Renault (1,696).
There are also changes in other technologies. The Seat Ibiza and the Dacia Sandero remain in the first position among gasoline and autogas/GLP models, respectively, in 2025. However, new leaders are the Nissan Qashqai (plug-in hybrids); the VW Tiguan (diesel); and the Toyota C-HR (plug-in hybrids).