Car “made in” Portugal was the European sales champion in July | Automobiles
The Volkswagen T-Roc was the best-selling model in Europe in the month of July, according to data compiled by the company Dataforce. The German brand sold 19,130 units of this SUV that is produced at Autoeuropa, in Palmela (in the small translator of Setúbal), or in that district, a year-on-year increase of 15% compared to the same month of 2021.
Portugal is exclusive to this model (with the exception of the Chinese market and the cabriolet, made in Osnabrück, Germany) designed primarily for the European market. In cumulative terms, sales of the T-Roc in 2022 are up 14% down on sales a year ago, but this car created in Portugal is Volkswagen’s best-selling model in Europe, with 105,939 units sold between January and July. In second place is the VW Golf, with 104,315 units.
European leadership is not identical in Portugal, where the T-Roc was only the 41st best-selling model between January and June (behind other brand models such as the T-Cross and Polo). It is a model optimized for expansion and which from now on began to be produced for its production cycle, with successful records of units implemented.
In August, the Wolfsburg brand presented a new version of the T-Roc, in a special edition dedicated to the Portuguese market, called VW T-Roc@pt. But in Portugal, Peugeot’s commercial leadership has been since last year – and it continues to be so, according to national market data for August, which were released this afternoon by ACAP – Associação Automóvel de Portugal.
The numbers say that, after a rather difficult first half (that August bra to grow, pushing the national market up for the second consecutive month).
In July, there were 16,897 new enrollments, a year-on-year increase of 18.8%. This is followed by August (a month in which the sales volume is usually lower) with 13,214 new registrations, an increase of 32.1% in year-on-year terms.
Seeking the main market, which translates to the main one for passengers, 11,349 new increases were registered, which 4 were even more expressive in homologous terms.
In the light goods market, sales fell 20.2% to 1450 units. In transport vehicles, sales almost doubled compared to one year ago, with 415 new registrations (+93%).
Despite these positive year-on-year variations, ACAP notes that the car market remains far from pre-pandemic. This is because, between January and August, the market gained 120,093 new vehicles and “still records a drop of 36.3% compared to the same period in 2019”.
In terms of energy, 9.9% of new light passenger vehicles are electric (BEV), according to ACAP, in press releases. In the first half of the year, BEV’s market share was already 10%.
Gasoline cars have the biggest share this year, among light passengers, representing 3.2% of sales. Cars with diesel engines represent 18.4% of sales and the so-called alternative energies are the remaining 38.4%, with 9.6% of hybrids. plug in (PHEV) and 16% plug-in non-rechargeable hybrids (HEV).
By brand, Peugeot remains the monthly and annual leader in sales of small passenger cars, with Renault in second place, ahead of Mercedes, Toyota and BMW, which occupy the 3rd, 4th and 5th. places in the monthly and annual sales rankings.