- The Portuguese car market has dropped sharply since 2010. It has halved since then, but in reality it is 2.5 times less than in 2000 or 2001.

- "The market fell last year to its lowest level since 1985, with 95 290 cars registered, down 37.9% compared to 2011. This year, we still have many business closures, especially as the government did not accept our proposal to establish a new scrapping bonus“ said Pedro, Secretary General of the ACAP (Portuguese Association of Automobile Manufacturers).

- Portugal is a country in Southern Europe most affected by the recession and the drop in auto sales, as well as Greece, Spain and Italy.

- In 2012, 2500 Portuguese companies working in the automotive field (repair, distribution, production) were closed, which has resulted in the loss of 21,000 jobs, said Pedro. A full recovery cannot be expected in 2013, even though the Portuguese market grew 0.8% in January.

Data source: File #55 - Registrations in the World by makes