Portugal’s economy minister Pedro Siza Vieira has congratulated the car sector for its significant growth in export sales in 2019.
Sales for cars and car parts raked in €13 billion, in great measure down to the performance of the Volkswagen car plant Autoeuropa.
“At a time when the international car market is facing some uncertainties, it is good to see that our producers have the capacity to gain market share,” said the minister during a visit to Autoeuropa at Palmela near Setúbal which expects to see a total production of three million vehicles in April this year.
During the visit to the largest car plant in Portugal, Siza Vieira trumpeted Portugal’s entry into the pantheon of the giant car manufacturers worldwide.
In fact, car and car component production in Portugal has almost doubled in two years.
“We have finally made it to the list of great car producers, the club of over 300,000 vehicles (of those countries who produce more than 300,000 cars a year) and Autoeuropa has made a very significant contribution. More than 74% of these cars sold overseas were produced here in Palmela,” said the minister.
According to Pedro Siza Vieira, 2019 was “a very good year”. “All Portuguese automotive producers grew in terms of sales and, above all, across the board, including car pieces and components, not just entire vehicles,” he said.
More business news at www.essential-business.pt
