The numbers are for 2019, but the trend has been worsening. Despite Portugal being among the European countries with the largest market share of trams, the general panorama of the car fleet leaves much to be desired.
The Portuguese travel in increasingly older vehicles, which are therefore less safe and more polluting. Data from the Automobile Association of Portugal (ACAP) reveal that, since 2000, the average age of cars in Portugal has risen from 7.2 to 12.9 years.
This means that, of the five million passenger cars traveling on national roads, 62% are over 10 years old. And of these nearly 900,000 are over 20 years old. Portugal above the European average. In this "European championship" there is no Eder that is worthy of us:
| Parents | Middle Ages | Year |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 8.0 | 2018 |
| Austria | 8.2 | 2018 |
| Ireland | 8.4 | 2018 |
| Switzerland | 8.6 | 2018 |
| Denmark | 8.8 | 2018 |
| Belgium | 9.0 | 2018 |
| France | 9.0 | 2018 |
| Germany | 9.5 | 2018 |
| Sweden | 9.9 | 2018 |
| Slovenia | 10.1 | 2018 |
| Norway | 10.5 | 2018 |
| Netherlands | 10.6 | 2018 |
| EU average | 10.8 | 2018 |
| Italy | 11.3 | 2018 |
| Finland | 12.2 | 2019 |
| Spain | 12.4 | 2018 |
| Croatia | 12.6 | 2016 |
| Portugal | 12.9 | 2018 |
| latvia | 13.9 | 2018 |
| Poland | 13.9 | 2018 |
| Slovakia | 13.9 | 2018 |
| Czech Republic | 14.8 | 2018 |
| Greece | 15.7 | 2018 |
| Hungary | 15.7 | 2018 |
| Romania | 16.3 | 2016 |
| Estonia | 16.7 | 2018 |
| Lithuania | 16.9 | 2018 |
Source.
Cars circulating in Portugal are getting older, and so are the vehicles that are scrapped. These are the models that in 2019 led the slaughter table:
This chart is by Valorcar, the entity that monitors activity in Portugal and manages 185 slaughterhouses. The data presented refer to vehicle scrapping in 2019. A table that in terms of models is led by the Opel Corsa.
But when we look at trends by brand, it's Renault that leads. For the rest, a predictable value since Renault has been the sales leader in Portugal for many years, and is therefore the brand with the largest fleet of vehicles.
Encouragement for everyone. Not just for electrics
ACAP defends an incentive to scrapping old cars. This association defended with the Government a support for the purchase of 25 thousand cars, through an incentive to the abatement in the value of 876 euros.
According to ACAP's accounts, this incentive totaling 21.9 million euros would represent an increase in tax revenue of 105.4 million euros. An incentive that does not discriminate, like other incentives currently in force, the type of motorization of the model in question.
In a country of old cars, where the automobile trade and industry are going through difficult times, for ACAP, this incentive would be an important step in three aspects: road safety, environment and economy.
State Budget 2021
We will soon find out about the concrete measures proposed by the Government in the State Budget for 2021, with regard to automobiles. We recall that the automotive sector represents, globally, more than 21% of tax revenue in Portugal (ACEA data).