Thus, in accumulated terms, the first four months saw a total of 86,725 vehicles sold in Portugal, an annualised rise of 21.2%.

However, that compares with the 6.7% rise in the number of light passenger and commercial vehicles sold in April, with 18,578 leaving the forecourts.

Volkswagen sales were hit in April, still coming in as the third best selling brand, behind Renault (2,354 vehicles) and Peugeot (1,911), with 1,723 cars sold but down 6.1% year-on-year at a time when all over brands are registering positive growth.