MADRID - Used car sales in Spain have significantly increased due to the economic crisis that Spain is suffering, local media reported on Monday.

Used cars sales, whose price dropped by 3.1 percent in the first seven months of the year, increased from July 2011 to July 2012 by 22.7 percent.

In Spain, 70 percent of car purchases are second-hand, 60 percent of which have been pre-owned for more than ten years. This has put a potential threat to the environment and road safety.

On the other hand, a rise in the Value Added Tax will also affect the sector.

In the case of cars, the Value Added Tax will rise from 18 to 21 percent from September 1, which means the industry will see less sales in new cars.

In 2007, before the crisis began in Spain the sector sold 1.6 million new cars. However in 2012, sales in new cars were expected to fall below 700,000.