José Manuel Soria highlights Spain as leading European manufacturer of industrial vehicles and second-largest car manufacturer in European Union

These awards were first presented in 2006 with a view to creating a gallery of key players in the automotive sector, both in industry and in sport. They highlight the professionals whose work has contributed to developing the automotive industry in one way or another.

José Manuel Soria officially closed the event with a speech in which he underlined the importance of the automotive sector internationally, as demonstrated by the fact that Spain is the leading European manufacturer of industrial vehicles, the second-largest car manufacturer in the European Union and the ninth-largest car manufacturer in the world.

The Spanish minister stressed that, within the Spanish economy, this sector accounts for 7% of the industrial GDP, is the leading domestic exporter with 20% of all Spanish exports and employs some 280,000 people (90,000 at manufacturing plants and another 190,000 at component factories).

The minister highlighted that the automotive sector is, and will continue to be, a benchmark for the Spanish economy and stressed that vehicle manufacturing in Spain during the first half of the year amounted to almost 1.5 million units, an increase of 13%.

Furthermore, exports continue growing at a strong pace. Over 1,100,000 units were exported in the first six months of the year (up 10%). This demonstrates the strong competitiveness of Spanish factories, which, with support from the Government of Spain, have successfully attracted investment from parent companies.

Over the last three years, said José Manuel Soria, new investment commitments worth 8.2 billion euros have been made by manufacturers. These investments will take place in Spain over the next few years. It is expected that the 39 different models being manufactured in 2013 will increase to 45 in 2015.

In terms of the domestic market, José Manuel Soria said that car sales have posted two consecutive years of growth and that August 2015 was the best August in terms of volume since 2009, posting the highest increase in 16 years. A total of 714,000 units were sold in the period January-August, an increase of over 22%.

José Manuel Soria explained the important impact on the sector as a result of the implementation by the Government of Spain of the eight PIVE Plans:

Over 1,100,000 vehicles were replaced; an energy saving of over 300 million litres of fuel/year (equivalent to over 1.7 million barrels of oil); a greenhouse gas reduction of 700,000 tonnes of CO2/year; and approximately 3 billion euros in tax revenue.

The minister concluded by saying that the reforms launched by the Government of Spain seek to correct the imbalances in the Spanish economy and are already producing results. Those results are encouraging the government to remain focused on continuing down the same path.