Portugal
In Portugal all e-mobility and smart city projects are planned and executed by local municipalities – presently we have 25 municipalities with smart city programs, most of which used EU funds to upgrade city infrastructure. As an example, the Lisbon municipality car fleet is 91% electric. The Mobi Cascais, of the Municipality of Cascais is the only program with an autonomous vehicle in Portugal, and the first to have all public transportation within the municipality free to its residents.
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Aftermarket Accessories: The market for automotive accessories and specialty equipment in Portugal and distribution channels largely consist of small importers. Although it is a fairly small market when compared to neighboring Spain, it is an ideal market for product acceptance studies, serving as a gateway to enter other European markets as well as other Portuguese-speaking markets.
Acceptance of U.S. products and new technology in Portugal is very high and well received by local companies. Portuguese over the past years have become fans of a wide range of products such as, passive and active security systems, automotive eco-friendly solutions, diagnostic and testing tools, as well as car entertainment systems.
In general, all products with cutting-edge technology can be placed into the Portuguese market. As a rule, Portuguese are ready to take into consideration new products and pay extra money for something that is, or seems to be, new and innovative.
Smaller Engines: Europe's best-selling car models can be equipped with 3-cylinder engines of 1000cc or less. This is the measure taken by brands to meet emission limits for pollution gases and also to contain the production and sales costs of the latest cars, thus providing more technology while maintaining similar prices.
Gasoline engine VS Diesel Engine: Diesel cars are rapidly losing market share. According to ACAP of the 223,799 light passengers bought in 2019, 49.2% have a gasoline engine and 40% have a diesel engine. Despite that, in the commercial vehicles the presence of diesel engine is still overwhelming: 99.1% of the 38,454 cars in this market are diesel and only 0.2% (90 vehicles) have a gasoline engine.
In alternative engines to fossil fuels, sales of electric and plug-in hybrids are also noteworthy. There was an increase of 3.3% in electric/petrol hybrids to 8545 units and almost zero growth in electric/diesel hybrids (+0.3% for 883 cars sold). On other hand plug-in/gasoline grew 1.8% to 4653 cars bought; and plug-in/diesel grew 0.4% to 1145 units. All in all, in the field of trams, pure plug-in or hybrids, the market share rose to 8.5%.
Smart Mobility: As mentioned in the summary of this report, new trends indicate a migration to a more sustainable and environment-oriented type of mobility. Socio-economic smart city trends include increased urbanization with an increased adoption of electric mobility and digital solutions. These new demands in growing Portuguese urban centers suggest best prospects in the smart mobility sector.
Market Entry
The most effective way to enter the Portuguese market is to partner with a local company that can act as a local representative as well as provide insights about local market environment and trends.
Exporters of vehicles, Original Equipment (OE) parts & components, as well as aftermarket products & accessories to the European Union and its member states must undergo a thorough assessment of, and ensure compliance with, existing European Commission Directives, i.e., regulatory requirements regarding technical specifications, product safety, as well as environmental impact & requirements. In principle, type-approval granted for vehicles or vehicle parts in one EU member state should be accepted by all member states across the EU. However, individual member states may enforce more stringent or additional regulatory requirements for certain product groups and/or applications.
The mandatory European legal requirements and certification process can be challenging for U.S. vehicles and parts when exporting to Portugal. There are no customs duties on imports from European Union (EU) countries if the car is new. However, Portugal faced a discriminatory legislation on car registration tax amendment in 2019 for heavily taxing EU imported used cars purchased in the Portuguese market (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/EN/INF_19_6304). The VAT in Portugal is 23 percent. The VAT is applied to all imports, including European vehicles. More taxes apply, depending on if the car is used for personal use or if it is a company fleet car. In the latter case if the car is a plug-in hybrid, taxes vary between 5% and 17.5%; and if it is LPG or CNG vehicle, between 7.5% and 27,5%. Diesel and gasoline have the highest tax rates, between 10% and 35%.