This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at El sector de la automoción capea el temporal

Ver más artículos sobre: Mechanised at full speed

The fall of registrations supposes a descent of the production of trucks in the European plants

The sector of the automotive sector bullfight with young bulls the storm

Esther Güell15/02/2013

If we remit us to the last data published by Sernauto with regard to the turnover of the sector of the automotive sector in 2011 —29.529,60 million euros, 8,7% more with regard to the previous exercise—, seems a figure more than positive. However, and slopes of the results of 2012, the forecasts are not so alagüeñas. And it is that in spite of the investment realised in R&D, 3,5% in 2011, and the data regarding import (23.478,32 million euros, 10,9% more than in 2010) and export —that represents 63% of the turnover and grew 14,5% with regard to the previous year— the fall of registrations supposed a dismunición of the manufacture of trucks so much in Spain as partly of Europe, what does to foresee a descent in the turnover of components of trucks, after two years of recovery. Likewise, it foresees also that the figure of export continue representing an important part of this turnover.

In spite of this, the automotive sector has been, and is, a strategic sector of the Spanish economy and has turned into one of the fundamental pillars of the industry in Spain. A sector that experienced an important economic growth and industrial during years that converted to the State in one of the countries reference of the sector to world-wide level.

This explains the total of centres of production: 17 plants of constructors of vehicles distributed along the Spanish and pertaining geography to the main manufacturers of trucks and whose activity in 2011 supposed for the companies manufacturers of components for automotive sector an upper turnover to the 6 million euros, 2% more with regard to 2010. The negative note of the exercise 2011 contributes it the market of spare, whose total figure launches 2,2% negative. However, it has to take into account that in the last 10 years this figure has grown to an annual rhythm between the 4 and 5%.

Fate of the import of components of automotive (23.478,32 M)

Supply construction industry: 14.675,92 M
Supply industry components: 7.100,12 M
Market supply replacement: 1.702,12 M

It is necessary to take into account however that the figures published, and those that recently will publish relative to 2012 that do not foresee so positive, do not reflect a certainty, and is the constant work of the sector of automotive sector to improve his competitiveness and attain the allocation of new models that will materialise to finals of this year and first of the next. By something Spain occupied the second place in production of vehicles in Europe and the ninth in the world in 2011, being the first European producer of industrial vehicles. An important percentage of this production (more than 90% according to data of Anfac, waiting for the closing of 2012) exports , converting to Spain in the 4º exporter of vehicles to world-wide level with destination to more than 90 countries. And the weight of this sector (including the industry of the components) inside the Spanish economy, represents more than 6% of the industrial GDP.

On the other hand, it is necessary to signal that the majority of the plants of production of tourisms in Spain have specialised in vehicles of half or small range, being Spain one of the European leaders in this so competitive segment.

At present they exist 17 plants of constructors of vehicles distributed along the Spanish and pertaining geography to the main manufacturers of trucks. Photo: Seat.

Productivity, an even more key factor

Although the plants of Spanish production stand out by his high indexes of productivity, the companies demand increasingly efforts to improve these data and opt by formulas, like the labour flexibility, the no productive periods, the use of incentives tied to the production or the reduction salarial to keep the figures in positive. Fruit of this political is the recent agreement reached in the plant of Barcelona of Nissan between unions and company and that will suppose the manufacture of a new vehicle in addition to an investment, by part of the Japanese signature, of 130 million euros in said plant.

On the other hand, the importance of the industry of the automotive sector explains also by the employment that supposes. Although it employs directly to more than 250.000 000 people in Spain —some 60.000 constructors and 190.000 in manufacturers of components— this figure increases until more than 2 millions if it takes into account the indirect employment that generates. It treats in addition to workers with a level of qualification and specialisation, so much of operarios like engineers or researchers, high. In this field fits to stand out the data contributed by Sernauto, that reflect an increase in 2011 of 6,7%, at the same time that it has reduced almost to the half (-45,7%) the labour absenteeism in the sector.

R&D and internationalisation, a tandem of success

The Spanish companies have bet strongly by the investigation, the development and the innovation, conscious of the dynamism of the sector and of the need to create new products that adapt to the needs, increasingly demanding, of the companies of the sector. In fact, the car industry is the sector that more has invested in R&D. Likewise, the companies also are conscious of the environingingmental challenges of the sector, by what are prioritising the investigation in technologies more respectful with the environingingment, new models of operation like the electrical vehicle and ecological fuels like the biodiesel and the bioetanol.

In this sense earn particular importance the technology centres, fundamental to sustain this investment in R&D. In Spain exists an important network of centres that devote so much to the car industry as to other sectors related directly with her. Mention also the paper that play the Spanish universities, that have groups devoted to the investigation inside the sector of the car.

Also is especially notable the capacity of internationalisation of many of the supplying companies of the sector. So much by his exporting potential as by his transformation in global companies with centres of production and development all over the world. Work as a whole allows to the companies manufacturers of components of automotive sector diversify risks and compensate the results of the Spanish market or European.

The industry of components

One of the factors that more contribute to the success of the Spanish car industry is the competitiveness of the Spanish industry of components. In this sense, exist big groups that have attained to consolidate so much in the national field like the international. Besides, the Spanish companies of components have known to situate geographically near of the plants of production of the companies of the car providing them of this form a fast service and adapted to his needs.

The auxiliary industries

Between the auxiliary industries stands out the one of machinery, a sector with direct importance in the car industry put that the innovation in machines and his improvements inciden directly in the improvement of the productivity of the plants of manufacture. And the big leading is the sector of the machine-tool, closely tied to the car industry and that stands out like one of the most advanced in Europe.

Without forgetting the producing industries of materials like plastics or steel, raw materials for the construction of vehicles and his components.

Innovation with solera

The car industry traces back, in the manufacture of vehicles, to the first years of the 20th century with leading marks of his period like Hispanic Swiss between others. The creation of the company Seat promoted the development one authenticates industry of providers and manufacturers of components. During the following years, Spain began to position in the sector thanks to that foreign companies of first level attended to Spain to implant , so much by his labour costs and hand of qualified work as by his geographic situation. This propició that Spanish employers launched also to the industrial production in this sector, developing like this an incipiente Spanish industry producer of vehicles with marks like Barreiros or Pegaso. In the sector of the manufacturers of components for the car created also a big quantity of companies, that arose in a lot of cases from small workshops of repair until turning into providers of components for the manufacture of vehicles. All they situate in the cradle of the current industry.