The Vuelta a Espana, Spain's Tour de France, is gaining in popularity as cycling takes off

For the first time ever, bikes are outselling cars in Spain.

Whether spurred on by a growing sense of environmental responsibility, a desire to get fit, or simply as a sensible response to an economy and job market that has sputtered and wobbled in recent years, but Spaniards are opting for two wheels over four.

Figures from Spain’s cycle industry have revealed that 780,000 bicycles were purchased in Spain in the last 12 months, accounting for 4% of all bikes bought in Europe. In contrast, just 700,000 new cars were purchased…

In a country where jobs are scarce, the weather is clement and public transport is often unreliable and expensive, the increased interest in cycling should come as no surprise. And while the country’s cycling infrastructure is still playing catch-up with much of the rest of the continent, Spaniards’ appetite for cycling is leading the pack.

As for Spain’s beleaguered car industry, times are tough following the recession that descended on the country since the bust of 2008. “In 2007, we sold 390 individual cars a year, but in 2012 it was down to just 300,” Federico Suarez Leco, director of Castellana Motor in Madrid, admitted to the Guardian newspaper.

Despite the government introducing generous scrappage schemes for vehicles older than 12 years in an attempt to stimulate the market, sales have stagnated.

“Spain and its car industry are moving steadily towards exiting the crisis,” confirmed Mario Armero, vice-president of the National Association of Car Manufacturers (Anfac). “In recent years we have been allocated 20 new models and by 2014 will produce about 45 models. This recognition of the quality of manufacturing in Spain is reflected in the fact that Spain exported taxis to New York, to London or Abu Dhabi,” Amero told the Guardian.

Meanwhile, Spain’s cycling industry pedals away, growing stronger by the day as more and more Spaniards turn their back on their cars in favour of two wheels.