Portuguese car market grows in July as Peugeot stays on top

Portugal’s car market returned to growth in July, with 18 157 passenger cars registered - up 3,5% on the same month of 2025.

Across the first seven months of the year, registrations are up 9,7% to 155 237 units, according to figures released by the Associação Automóvel de Portugal (ACAP).

Looking at all categories - including light and heavy commercial vehicles - the market rose 8,6% in July to 22 480 registrations. From the start of the year, 180 423 vehicles have been registered, an increase of 10,2% compared with the same period in 2025.

Peugeot keeps its lead

Even after a 7% drop in registrations, Peugeot finished July as Portugal’s best-selling brand in the passenger-car market, with 1529 cars.

Mercedes-Benz held on to second place with 1392 units (-3,9%), while Volkswagen completed the top three after posting a strong rise of 26,5% to 1374 registered cars.

Outside the podium, Toyota and BYD were the standout names of the month. The Japanese brand registered 1152 cars, representing growth of 34,3%. Meanwhile, the Chinese brand recorded the biggest jump among the 10 best-sellers: BYD delivered 718 cars, up 60,6% versus July last year, reinforcing the upward trend it has been building in the Portuguese market.

Not every brand matched the market’s momentum. Among the top 10, Renault saw its volume fall by 7,4% and Dacia slipped by 2,9%. The sharpest decline belonged to Volvo, where registrations dropped 12,6% compared with the same month of 2025.

Other highlights

Beyond the Top 10, the strongest growth came from Leapmotor (+507,5%), CUPRA (+160,5%) and Xpeng (+146,4%).

Among brands with a bigger presence in the market, Tesla recorded the steepest fall at 68,7%. Next came Alfa Romeo (-65,4%), Nissan (-56,5%) and Honda (-42,5%). Dongfeng dropped even further, by 76,5%, although from a residual base of registrations.

And year to date?

Over the first seven months of 2026, Peugeot continues to lead the Portuguese market, with Mercedes-Benz in second. The key change on the podium is in third place, now held by Dacia despite an 8,5% fall in registrations.

BMW follows in fourth, posting growth of 8,6%. Volkswagen rounds out the Top 5 and, thanks to a stronger increase of 12,3%, is closing in on the leading positions.

Among the brands with the strongest growth year to date, several Chinese manufacturers stand out again. Leapmotor surged 1013,8%, Xpeng rose 159,1%, MG climbed 78,1% and BYD increased registrations by 46,2%.

These percentages need to be seen in context. Most of these brands were starting from very low volumes a year ago, which helps explain the high growth rates. Even so, the figures underline how new brands are increasingly establishing themselves in Portugal’s car market.

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