Faconauto is the employers' association that brings together the associations of official dealerships for the brands present in Spain. Its main role is not to directly group all kinds of used car dealers, but to represent and coordinate the official networks through their brand associations.
What Faconauto represents
According to its public figures, Faconauto represents the interests of 2,255 dealerships, on which thousands of second-tier distribution businesses depend. The organisation positions these companies as a significant block of employment, turnover and economic activity.
Its structure includes associations for Renault, Volvo, SEAT, Volkswagen/Audi/Škoda, Ford, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, BMW-MINI, Suzuki, Fiat and other passenger car and commercial vehicle networks.
What a dealer employers' association does
An employers' association works on problems that an individual company can hardly tackle on its own:
regulation of the distribution model;
taxation and the employment framework;
dialogue with public administrations;
profitability and competitiveness of the networks;
energy transition and electrification;
digitalisation;
legal certainty;
representation in Spanish and European business organisations.
Faconauto also runs conferences, training, statistics and sector projects. For an official dealership, this layer of collective representation is especially important because the relationship with the manufacturer, regulation and the network shapes an essential part of the business.
What role do brand associations play?
Faconauto works as a federation: each network's association brings its dealerships' problems and priorities to the common structure. That is why it is worth distinguishing between Faconauto and, for example, ANCR for Renault or ACEVAS for Volkswagen, Audi and Škoda.
The brand association deals with issues specific to its network. Faconauto can raise issues shared by many brands to the national or European level.
Is it of interest to an independent used car dealer?
Even if they are not its main representative base, it is worth following its activity. Many issues that Faconauto puts on the table (electrification, incentives, regulation, digitalisation, fleet renewal or artificial intelligence) end up affecting the independent used car business too.
In addition, the evolution of the official dealership directly influences the used car market: trade-ins, remarketing, nearly-new stock, prices and supply.
How to make good use of Faconauto's information
For an independent professional, Faconauto can be a good source to:
follow regulatory changes;
understand the priorities of the official networks;
check registration data;
anticipate trends that will eventually reach the used car market;
identify brand associations and their structure.
You can see the full map in dealer associations by brand in Spain.
Where does AECOVI fit compared with Faconauto?
Faconauto mainly represents the official networks through their brand associations. AECOVI is aimed above all at the independent used car dealer and the used vehicle professional. They do not fulfil the same role: Faconauto does employer and institutional work, while AECOVI positions itself as a community for knowledge and digitalisation. In businesses with used car activity, both ecosystems can share learnings on stock, leads, profitability or digital transformation.
Related reading
Editorial note
This content is part of AECOVI, a private and free association and community promoted by Dealcar—a software company for used car traders and dealerships—with the goal of sharing knowledge, educating, and helping to digitalise and professionalise the independent used vehicle market. Learn about the initiative.
