Peugeot, Dacia, Tesla gain in fast-growing Portugal

Peugeot, Dacia and Tesla were among the biggest winners from Portugal's continued rebound in new-car sales, which were ip 20 percent last month.

The country's sales so far this year are 13 percent above the pre-pandemic average volume seen in 2016-19, according to figures from Dataforce.

Peugeot was the No. 1-selling brand in September, taking that honor for the ninth time in the last 13 months. The French automaker boosted its sales 23 percent last month to 1,429. It was led by the Peugeot 208, which finished the month as Portugal's No. 2-selling car behind the leader, the Dacia Sandero.

Dacia, Renault's Romania-based budget brand, was Portugal's No. 2-selling brand, boosting September sales 52 percent to 1,337.

Dacia is getting a lift from demand for its LPG-powered models as 68 percent of its sales use the fuel.

Tesla, meanwhile, is a big beneficiary or Portugal's tax breaks for EVs. Those incentives contributed to a 103 percent increase in overall EV sales last month, resulting in a 22 percent market share for cars with the powertrain compared with 13 percent during the same month last year

Tesla's Model Y and Model 3 ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in EV sales in the country last month. They also placed third and fourth in overall sales, Dataforce's figures show.

The full-electric Fiat 500 e and BMW i4 were Nos. 3  and 4 in EV sales last month.

Another car to watch in the market is the battery-powered Jeep Avenger, which outsold the full-electric VW ID3 and BMW iX1 in September.

The biggest losers in September were gasoline cars, down 12 percent, and diesel, down 23 percent. The market share for gasoline cars dipped last month to 35.3 percent from 48.3 percent in September 2022. The diesel share feel to 13 percent from 20.4 percent during the same period.