In March, vehicle registrations in Portugal fell by 51.57% with respect to March of 2011. In total, 10,952 cars were registered and 164,232 new cars were sold in the last twelve months, 37.7% less than the year before.
The breakdown of car sales figures for the month of March is:
- Commercial vehicles sold: 1,309, 64.46% less than in March of 2011.
- Passenger cars regitrations: 9,643, which represents a figure of 49.06% less than in March of 2011.
Portugal is the 43th-placed country in ranking of 135 countries based on number of vehicle registrations.
A very useful variable for estimating the level of economic wealth enjoyed by Portuguese residents, when compared to the other countries in the ranking, is the number of vehicles sold or registered per thousand residents in the last year. With annual sales of 15.58 cars per 1,000 residents, 1.04 of them in the last month, Portugal, occupies 42th place in the ranking.
As can be seen, the number of registrations per thousand residents has fallen in the last year. A drop in registrations generally indicates a fall in consumer confidence and, when it is sustained, a recession in the real economy.
Changes in Portuguese vehicle registration numbers are shown in the tables below. As several studies indicate, these changes are very much related to changes in GDP and, hence, to a country's economic situation. Sales have declined since 2002, as 358,880 were registered that year, as have the number of registrations per thousand residents, which that year numbered 34.53.
Here we show you the progression of vehicle registrations in Portugal. You can see car registrations in other countries in en vehicle registrations and see all the economic information about Portugal in en Portuguese economy.