At a time shrouded in controversy due to the reform proposed by the Government for the Single Circulation Tax (IUC), which foresees that cars prior to 2007 will start paying the 'environmental component', data from Pordata indicates that the vast majority of cars in circulation in Portugal, more than two thirds, are aged 10 or over.

According to a report by NM, the data, which includes values ranging from 2010 to 2021, says that, in the last year recorded, there were 5,648,121 light and heavy passenger vehicles in circulation in Portugal (goods vehicles are not included).

Of these, 3,656,623 - around 64.7% of the total - were 10 or more years old in 2021.

Meanwhile, the share of passenger vehicles that are less than two years old is increasingly reduced. In 2021, 293,296 were registered in circulation, a value substantially lower than the more than 370 thousand registered in 2020 and the more than 455 thousand registered in 2019 and 2018.

The Government's proposal for the 2024 State Budget (OE2024) implies an "environmental reform of the IUC" for older cars, with the document explaining that "the IUC is increased for vehicles prior to 2007, as a complementary measure to reinforce of the renewal of national fleets". This covers around three million light vehicles (category A) and half a million motorcycles (category E).

The maximum increase is limited to 25 euros per year, which is equivalent to around two euros per month, but the executive made it clear that this limit is to increase over the years, so that the IUC "represents the totality of relative taxation to the CO2 emitted by these vehicles".