The Association of Manufacturers for the Automotive Industry (AFIA) revealed this Monday that automotive component exports recorded a decrease in June, amounting to €1 billion, representing an 11% drop compared to the same period in 2023.
However, the accumulated exports in the first six months of the year amount to €6.4 billion, representing a 3.8% decrease compared to the same period in 2023.
According to the data released in a statement by AFIA, this behavior is “essentially determined by the decline in sales in the European industry, as it represents 88.5% of sales and the fact that they fell by 5.1% for that same market conditions the production of the national component industry”.
Spain continues to lead the list of the main destinations for components manufactured in Portugal, accounting for a 27.9% share, followed by Germany and France with 23.4% and 8.3%, respectively.
“These results leave us less optimistic about the times ahead, reinforcing the need to lower the growth expectations we initially had for 2024. This situation affects all of Europe, and consequently affects Portugal, as we are dependent on European production. The combined automotive production of Spain, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy, the main partners of the Portuguese industry, decreased by 7.5% in the first semester compared to the period from January to June 2023,” says José Couto, president of AFIA.
According to the data disclosed, automotive component exports remain responsible for 16% of national exports of tradable goods, that is, for every €100 exported, €16 belong to the automotive component sector.
