Renault, Citroen and Peugeot led Spain’s record-breaking sales in 2004, boosted by new model launches and aggressive discounting.

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Renault sold 193,811 vehicles, trailed closely by Citroen and Peugeot, which delivered gains of 3.4% and 6.5% to 159,627 and 158,613 respectively units. Ford and Seat sold 155,162 and 150,202 cars, up 17% and 1.3% respectively.


Last year a record 1.52 million new cars were sold in Spain, up 9.2% from 2003. Trucks also gained 7.2% to 37,502 units.


Renault’s Megane, Ford’s Focus and Citroen’s Xsara topped the leader board, selling 117,624, 85,464 and 69,547 units respectively, as Spaniards continued to show a strong preference for affordable midsize models.


“These models’ have a high price-quality ratio and the manufacturers offered very aggressive discounts and financing incentives,” said Blas Vives, secretary general for dealers’ federation Faconauto.

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The top and low end of the midsize segment continued to experience sharp gains, accounting for nearly 60% of sales. Purchases of economical “micro” models such as Ford’s Ka and Citroen’s C2 leapt 28%, motivated by high petrol prices. Sport sedans saw sales jump 25% while 4X4s (SUVs) netted a 19% gain to 98,662 registrations.


Not every category did well.


Luxury vehicles fell 1.08% even though brands such as Jaguar and Saab gained 65% and 50% respectively.


American brands performed even worse. Chevrolet plunged 41% while Pontiac and Buick declined 11% and 66% respectively. Chrysler sold 5,700 units, down 1%.


Compared to Germany or France, luxury cars usually don’t sell well in Spain. Even when they shop for upmarket cars, Spaniards usually “go for the more basic luxury,” Vives noted.


Explaining the Americans’ sales slump, industry observers said US brands were overshadowed by their “higher quality” Asian rivals. Their limited offerings in the increasingly popular diesel market also hurt sales.


Ivan Castano