Spanish car manufacturers’ federation Anfac has urged the government to improve its rail network to help the industry beat formidable competition from eastern Europe.
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The call came after the number of cars transported by rail fell 33% to 1m vehicles in 2005, down from 1.5m cars in 2000, an Anfac spokesman told just-auto on Wednesday.
While eastern Europe’s rail system isn’t necessarily better than Spain’s, “they are much closer to delivery markets and this gives them a logistics benefit that we don’t have,” the spokesman said. “As a more peripheral country, good logistics are vital for us to compete.”
Anfac wants cars to travel on Spain’s rail tracks (operated by state-owned giant Renfe) quicker than the current 16km/hour average speed, the spokesman said.
The group is also agitating for a double-track system to hasten cargo deliveries and cut delays, the spokesman added.
“In many parts of Spain, there are many stops in the network and this causes delays,” the spokesman noted, adding that separate cargo tracks could easily be laid in some areas.
Eastern European manufacturing costs are 30% lower than in Spain, where manufacturing accounts for 10% of car production costs and logistics another 10%, Anfac said.
Ivan Castano
