According to new data, the number of cars 20 years or older sold in Spain has skyrocketed in recent months. Every effort is made to avoid public transport.
Out of fear of contracting the corona virus and to respond to the (coming) recession, Spaniards are buying cheap old cars en masse to get from A to B. This is according to new data from the Institute of Automotive Studies, according to the news agency Reuters. Sales of cars older than 20 years increased by 31 percent in the past two months compared to a year earlier. That equates to 44,000 cars. The Spaniards paid an average of € 1,400 for this.
This shift is also clearly reflected in the number of users of public transport. That was because it decreased by 40 percent last summer. The sale of new cars is also not getting off to a good start after the lockdown dip. After a small increase in July (+1.1 percent), sales fell again in August by 10.0 percent. This change is not well received here and there: “This is a significant step back in the field of air quality. Ultimately, this also has negative consequences for respiratory diseases, one of which is covid-19, ”said Adrian Fernandez, a transport expert at Greenpeace’s Spanish branch.
Since the start of the outbreak, the coronavirus has killed nearly 30,000 Spaniards.