The 2024 annual report from the Faconauto association of car dealerships indicates that sales in the Balearics, which slumped during the pandemic, are returning to levels similar to those of 2018 and 2019.
The value of sales by official car dealerships in 2024 was up 3.6% compared with 2023 - a total of 1,094 million euros. The number of dealerships increased by four to 57. The president of Faconauto in the Balearics, Luis Pol, says forecasts show that in 2025 "we will reach an optimal registration figure, which will allow the oldest vehicle fleet to disappear".
Up to July this year, there were 16,540 new car registrations, an increase of 16.7% compared with the first seven months of 2024. However, the anticipated figure for the whole year will fall short of the record year of 2018 - 34,632. In the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, the registrations were around half this figure.
The pandemic and the supply crisis in the automotive industry have led to an increase in price of some 30%. Pol adds that a sense of higher prices is even greater because a once traditional offer of small cars has all but disappeared. "It's difficult to find a vehicle for less than €19,000 to €22,000."
Tariffs, he says, will not affect dealerships. "We are not vehicle exporters to the US and cars from the likes of General Motors and Ford aren't coming." But other European manufacturers, such as BMW, Audi, and Volvo, do export to the US, which will increase the price of their vehicles in the European market.
As to electric and hybrid cars, Pol believes prices will gradually become more affordable. "A good network of charging points is now needed so that drivers can charge at least half of their battery in 15 or 20 minutes."