Car Dealer Compliance in Portugal: DL 304/2001

The rules for car adverts in Portugal

7 rules decide what a dealer in Portugal has to show on the car, in adverts and in financing examples. Each one, and what it asks of you:

Decreto-Lei n.º 304/2001
Decree-Law 304/2001 of 26 November on consumer information on fuel economy and CO2 emissions of new passenger cars (label)
Authority ASAE (Autoridade de Segurança Alimentar e Económica), art. 8; label model of the former DGV, today IMT
Every new passenger car displayed at a point of sale for sale or financial leasing carries an A4 CO2 label on or next to it, in the standard model with a classification zone graded from green to red. Under article 2 b) a car stays new until someone buys it for a purpose other than resale, so a demonstrator still counts as new. Importers and concessionários generate the official label in the ACAP/IMT Etiquetas CO2 portal.
Decreto-Lei n.º 304/2001
Decree-Law 304/2001 as amended by Decree-Law 184/2005, promotional material including electronic media
Authority ASAE; fines under Decree-Law 9/2021 (RJCE), art. 18
Every advert for a model states the official combined fuel consumption, in l/100 km or km/l with one decimal, and the CO2 emissions in g/km, as on the label. Websites, portals, social media and online video are covered; only radio and television are exempt. Electronic adverts carry the statutory sentence on the Guia de Economia de Combustível word for word. A breach is a serious economic offence, with fines that grow with the size of the company.
Decreto-Lei n.º 184/2005
Decree-Law 184/2005, new Annex II of Decree-Law 304/2001 (poster or electronic display per brand)
Authority ASAE
Each point of sale shows, for every brand, a poster of at least 70 x 50 cm or an electronic screen of at least 25 x 32 cm with the new models grouped by fuel and sorted by ascending CO2. Two statutory sentences, worded differently from the label, sit on the poster and stay visible on a screen. A printed list must be no older than six months; on a screen the limit is three.
Decreto-Lei n.º 133/2009
Decree-Law 133/2009 of 2 June on consumer credit agreements, advertising
Authority Banco de Portugal
Any advert in which a lender or an intermediary offers credit states the TAEG, even at 0 %. Once an interest rate or a cost figure appears, the advert gives the representative example: TAN fixed or variable, total amount of credit, TAEG, term, preço a pronto and down payment, total amount payable and the instalment. The TAEG may not exceed the quarterly maximum published by Banco de Portugal for car loans (art. 28).
Aviso do Banco de Portugal n.º 5/2024
Banco de Portugal Notice 5/2024 on advertising of banking products
Authority Banco de Portugal
The TAEG and the details tied to an advertised instalment sit right next to it with similar prominence, without a click. Websites, banners and e-mails use at least 12 pt, print at least 9 pt. Online, the full example may follow on a landing page behind a 'saiba mais' link; in print it never may. A higher final instalment counts as a restriction and stands beside the monthly instalment.
Decreto-Lei n.º 81-C/2017
Decree-Law 81-C/2017 of 7 July on credit intermediaries
Authority Banco de Portugal (authorisation and register)
A dealer who arranges car loans is an intermediário de crédito a título acessório and needs Banco de Portugal authorisation and registration. His adverts name his full legal name, the category, his register number and the lenders he is tied to, plus the lender's name and register number. Product adverts of a tied or ancillary intermediary need the lender's prior approval.
Regulation (EU) 2023/988
General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), information in online offers
Authority European Union regulation, directly applicable in Portugal
Online offers to Portuguese consumers, for new and used cars alike, name the manufacturer with postal and e-mail address, the EU responsible person for makes from outside the EU, the product identification and the safety information. Vehicle Hub prints them in Portuguese under Informações de segurança do produto, in the exposé and on the car page.

Car dealer compliance in Portugal rests on Decreto-Lei 304/2001, as amended in 2005: every new passenger car you display for sale or financial leasing carries the CO2 label, every brand you sell is listed on a poster or screen, and every advert for a model, from the brochure to your website and online video, gives its official fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Online adverts also carry the statutory sentence on the free fuel economy guide. ASAE supervises these duties, and a breach is a serious economic offence under the 2021 regime. Vehicle Hub keeps the official values on each car and puts the same figures on the exposé, the price sign, the brand poster and your website.

In Portugal, Vehicle Hub does not draw the label at the car itself. The official model with its green to red classification zone is produced in the Etiquetas CO2 portal that ACAP runs with IMT for importers and concessionários, and its class limits are not published, so a home-made label could not be correct. Vehicle Hub reminds you to print it there and handles the rest: the captioned values, the online guide sentence and the brand poster. If you advertise financing, the Loan Calculator follows Decreto-Lei 133/2009 and the Banco de Portugal rules, including your register number as a credit intermediary. The car pages come from the Vehicle Hub widgets, and the rules of all 33 countries are summarised on the car labelling directive by country overview. Vehicle Hub applies the rules; it is not legal advice.

Where the Portuguese CO2 label comes from

Annex I of Decree-Law 304/2001 asks for the standard A4 model of the former Direcção-Geral de Viação, with the model, the fuel, a classification zone in colours graded from green to red, the values and two sentences. The model and its class limits are not published; the label is generated in the Etiquetas CO2 portal of ACAP and IMT, reserved for importers and concessionários, which also publishes the current fuel economy guide. Vehicle Hub therefore prints no Portuguese label of its own and shows you a hint to fetch it there. Everything around it, from the captioned values in the exposé to the brand poster, comes from Vehicle Hub.

Exposé line printed by Vehicle Hub for a new Toyota Yaris Cross: Consumo oficial de combustível 5,6 l/100 km / 17,9 km/l, Emissões específicas oficiais de CO2 127 g/km

Mandatory details in Portugal

Official combined fuel consumption, l/100 km and km/l, one decimal
Official CO2 emissions in whole g/km
Captions Consumo oficial de combustível and Emissões específicas oficiais de CO2
Statutory sentence on the Guia de Economia de Combustível, word for word
Weighted values for plug-in hybrids, natural gas in m3 or kg and hydrogen in kg per 100 km
Values also in adverts for renting new cars
Models per brand by fuel and ascending CO2, with the two poster sentences
TAEG in every financing advert and the full representative example once a rate or instalment appears
Dealer's legal name, category and Banco de Portugal register number, lender's name and register number
Example at 12 pt or more online, TAEG beside the instalment
Manufacturer, EU responsible person and safety information
All required values present before a new car goes online

What you get

The online sentence, word for word
Every new car on your website carries the statutory sentence on the fuel economy guide exactly as Annex IV prints it, next to the captioned consumption and CO2 values.
The brand poster for your stand
Vehicle Hub builds the 70 x 50 cm poster for each brand from your stock, grouped by fuel and sorted by CO2, with the two poster sentences in Portuguese.
No new car online without its values
A new car or demonstrator without official consumption or CO2 stays off your website until the values are in. Vehicle Hub names the missing one.
Your Banco de Portugal details in every example
Enter your register number as an intermediário de crédito a título acessório, the lender's number and its approval once. Every financing example prints them.
Financing examples the Banco de Portugal way
The Loan Calculator shows the TAEG beside the instalment, the final instalment next to the monthly one and the full example at the font size the notice asks for.
Product safety for makes from outside the EU
For a Toyota built in Japan, the exposé names Toyota Motor Corporation and its responsible person in the EU, Toyota Motor Europe in Brussels. Vehicle Hub does this for every make in its catalogue, and you can correct a line per make.

See a Portuguese car page before you publish

Set Portugal as your branch's main market, import a few new cars and open one car page and its exposé. You will see the captioned values, the guide sentence and, if something is missing, exactly what to add.

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How to get started

Set Portugal as your branch's main market
Create a KIMISUITE workspace for the stand, add Vehicle Hub and choose Portugal as the main market of your branch. The Portuguese rule set then decides what every advert and print must say.
Bring in your stock
Your viaturas come in from mobile.de, your stand's management system or a CSV or XML feed, or one at a time through the creation assistant. Mark demonstrators that were never sold to an end customer as new.
Check the values Portugal asks for
Look over the official consumption and CO2 of each new car, the weighted values of plug-in hybrids and the unit of gas cars. Values that arrive with an import are treated as confirmed by you, so check them once.
Make car dealer compliance in Portugal part of your routine
Print the official label in the Etiquetas CO2 portal, print the brand poster from Vehicle Hub and publish the car on your website, where the same values and the guide sentence appear.

Pricing

The Portuguese rule set, the exposé, the price sign, the brand poster and the Loan Calculator come with Vehicle Hub, which starts at a fixed monthly price (see pricing) per dealership workspace. Salespeople, the person who photographs the cars and the manager share that one price.

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Is it the right fit?

A good fit if

Concessionários with new and demonstrator stock who advertise every model online
Stands de automóveis that also sell nearly new cars never sold to an end customer
Dealers who arrange car loans as registered credit intermediaries and advertise instalments
Dealers who also advertise new cars for rent

Not the right fit if

Dealers who expect Vehicle Hub to print the official Portuguese CO2 label; it comes from the ACAP/IMT portal
Dealers who want their stock published to Standvirtual, OLX or CustoJusto; Vehicle Hub imports stock and never creates listings on those portals
Anyone looking for legal advice or help with the Banco de Portugal registration itself

Frequently asked questions

What does car dealer compliance in Portugal involve?

The CO2 label at every new car, a poster per brand, and official consumption and CO2 values in every advert, online video included, with the guide sentence online. Financing adverts follow Decreto-Lei 133/2009, the Banco de Portugal notice and the intermediary rules.

Why does Vehicle Hub not print the Portuguese label?

Because the official model with its colour classification is generated in the ACAP/IMT Etiquetas CO2 portal and its class limits are not published. A label drawn without them would not meet Annex I, so Vehicle Hub points you to the portal and covers the adverts and the poster.

Are online video and social media covered?

Yes. The 2005 amendment brought all electronic promotional material under the rule, and only radio and television broadcasting are excluded. Vehicle Hub applies the online duty to your website and adds the guide sentence there.

Do I need a Banco de Portugal registration to show instalments?

Yes, a dealer who arranges credit is an intermediário de crédito a título acessório and must be authorised and registered. Your adverts then show your register number and the lender's, and product adverts need the lender's prior approval, which you confirm in the financing settings.

Do rental offers for new cars need the values?

Yes, in advertising. The decree defines promotional material for cars offered for sale or rent, so adverts for renting new cars carry consumption and CO2. The label and the poster remain tied to sale and financial leasing.

Which authority supervises personal data from my enquiries in Portugal?

The Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados (CNPD), under the GDPR and Lei n.º 58/2019. The enquiries your stand receives through the Vehicle Hub widgets are your customer data, and the CNPD is where a Portuguese buyer would complain about how you use them.