Spain's car sales decrease by 27.6% in September

Car sales decreased by 27.6 percent in the first 15 days of September in Spain, according to the Association of Car Dealers (Ganvam), local media reported on Monday. The 27.6 percent decrease, compared with the same period of 2011, was mainly caused by the increase in the Value Added Tax that came into effect on Sept. 1. It increased from 18 to 21 percent. Nevertheless, car sales have been decreasing before. In July there was a 17.2 percent decrease in car sales and in August there was a year-on-year 3.4 percent increase because many clients wanted to avoid the Value Added Tax increase, which implied 650 euros (about 852 U.S. dollars) more per car. In this context of economic crisis Spain is suffering, the car market has been dramatically affected. Salaries are lower, many people are unemployed and due to the crisis in the Spanish banking system credits are more difficult to get than before. In this context, used cars sales increased meanwhile new car sales decreased. From July 2011 to July 2012 used car sales increased by 22.7 percent. Meanwhile, new cars enrollment fell by 17 percent in July.