The automotive sector is of great importance in the Spanish economy:

• Turn over of 6.2% of the GDP
• 8.7% of the working population is employed in the Automotive Sector
• This industry represents 18.3% of the national exports of goods and services.

The Spanish automotive industry employs a high number of qualified workers; many of them working in R&D. Spain has important automotive clusters and technological centres. Spanish universities have research groups specialized in various aspects of the development of motor vehicles.

In 2010 2.17 million vehicles were produced in Spain. 87% of this production was exported. The employment was 58,043 workers.

In 2010 the sector of Automotive Parts and Accessories had a turn over of 27,162 million euros. From this amount 60% belonged to exports. The employment was 179,045 workers.

Spain holds an outstanding place in the European ranking of manufacturing by number of vehicles, being the second European producer of passenger cars and first of industrial vehicles. In the world Spain is the 8th country in vehicle production.

Why Spain?

The majority of the main vehicle manufacturers of the world are present in Spain with 18 production plants. The Spanish industrial plants are characterized by their high level of productivity, as it proves the fact that several of them are positioned between the top 10 in Europe. The Spanish manufacturers have realized important investments in the modernization of their production lines and in the adaptation to the production of new models. The high productivity and specialization of the Spanish plants puts them as leaders in the production of low and medium range vehicles.

The manufactures are still maintaining a high level of investments in their Spanish production plants:

84% of the Spanish passenger cars are being exported to the EU-15.

Spain has one of the most important Automotive Parts and Accessories Industries in the world. This sector is characterized by a high level of technology, innovation and investment in R&D. The Spanish manufacturers have experienced a repositioning by developing knowledge, and specializing in one or more areas, integrating the knowledge of all areas of their organization.

Present and future: the electric vehicle. The characteristics of the Spanish vehicle production, specialized in low range and with models similar to the electric proposals, make it more compatible as in other countries.

Domestic and foreign manufacturers such as RENAULT, MERCEDES, FORD, PEUGEOT-CITRÖEN and SEAT have already made firm decisions to manufacture electric powered vehicles in Spain.

For further information, please visit the “Business Opportunities” tab for this sector.

To find Grants & Incentives available for this sector, click here to access our online database and enter the text “automotive” under "Text search", one of our search parameters. With the same service, you can also search for transversal grants that might be of your interest.