LISBON: Finance and industry ministry said that the vehicle sales in Portugal rose by 36.5% a total number of 22,975 vehicles sold in March compared to last year, but while the boost has seen consumer confidence returning, the revenue in the industry is still below pre crisis levels.
Peugeot and Volkswagen also saw their popularity growing. In a statement, ACAP said that in the first quarter as a whole, sales were up 33.1% on the year, at 53,858. However, they noted that the market has not regained its lustre from before the recession that followed the global financial crisis and saw the sector crashing dramatically.
“Despite the year-on-year growth that has been recorded, the volume of sales observed in March remains below the level of the past 15 years (-3.4%),” said ACAP.