Bilbao, March, 27th, 2025 – The Basque automotive sector, despite the slowdown, maintained the level of 2023 with a slightly higher turnover of 25,349 million euros, 1.3% more than in the previous year. This figure does not take into account the specific weight of Mercedes Benz Vitoria.
These results are due to the market situation, whose evolution over the course of 2024 has gone from strength to weakness, due to geostrategic struggles, the indecision of end consumers, the slowdown in the launch of electric vehicles or the entry of Chinese competitors, etc.
This has forced companies to improve the management of their organisations, diversify their customers/markets/technologies and prioritise certain markets that have performed reasonably better than the European market.
With regard to employment, in its 740 production plants, it employs 140,000 people, of which 38,700 are located in the Basque Country, which means that it remains at a similar level in the Basque Country to the previous year.
According to Inés Anitua, Director General of ACICAE, ‘Despite the uncertainty, the sector has managed to maintain a reasonable level of activity. For 2025 we expect a complicated situation with little visibility for the time being’.
On the other hand, 90% of the sector’s sales continue to be international, and more than half of these are generated outside Europe. The sector has also maintained its factories outside the Basque Country, with 357 production plants in 32 countries, in both emerging and traditional markets.
In terms of R&D&I, Basque companies have devoted nearly 3% of their turnover to this and 0.43% to training.
The Basque automotive sector is made up of some 300 companies ranging from foreign capital multinationals, local multinationals, cooperatives, family businesses and start-ups.
