MADRID, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- The number of vehicles manufactured in Spain fell by 1.5 percent in 2017 when compared with 2016, according to data published on Wednesday by the Association of Car Manufacturers (ANFAC).

ANFAC posted a total of 2,848,335 vehicles manufactured in 2017.

The number of cars manufactured in 2017 stood at 2,243,220, which meant a 3 percent fall when compared with 2016, and the number of four-wheel vehicles manufactured stood at 48,272, meaning a 3.31 percent rise year-on-year.

A total of 556,843 commercial and industrial vehicles were manufactured in Spanish factories in 2017, registering a 4.7 percent increase when compared with 2016, ANFAC said.

Regarding exports, the sector shipped 2,435,336 units to other countries in 2017, up 0.1 percent from 2016.

The sector emphasized that Spain needs to go on improving its competitiveness in order to keep its position as the second largest European vehicles' manufacturer and the eighth in the world, noting that countries such as France and Italy have increased their production in 2017.

ANFAC said that 2017 production had been affected by uncertainties caused by Brexit, the situation in Turkey (which is the main non-EU market for Spain) and the fact that Spain started manufacturing new models which requires an adjustment. Enditem