Production of passenger cars in Spain is the second in Europe since 2010
- The Spanish auto industry started much later than French, German, British or Italian ones. Spain was in fact until the beginning of the 1960s an extremely poor country compared to other large European countries, furthermore still very affected by the civil war which left a million dead between 1936 and 1939.
- The first major automobile carmakers (Fiat, Renault, Citroën) established themselves in Spain between 1953 and 1958, but it was not until the country entered the Common Market on January 1, 1986 (renamed the European Union in 1993) that Spain become a country comparable to other large European countries. This accession allowed Spain to fully participate in the European common market, promoting trade and contributing to raising the standard of living thanks to cohesion funds.
- Spanish automobile production thus increased from 1 million passenger cars in 1980 to 2 million in 1995 and 2.5 million in the year 2000. This spectacular growth is due not only to domestic demand but also and above all to exports, supported by the relocation of production from France and Germany to Spain, a country which then benefited from much lower labor costs.
- Spain gradually became the second largest European automobile producer in 2010, behind Germany and ahead of France. In 2023, Spain will produce twice as many passenger cars as France (1.85 million units compared to 950 000) but half as many as Germany.