Giving the example of Toyota’s electric vehicle, which was presented today, Costa defended a commitment to more sophisticated products, adding that currently 38% of exports are already high and medium-high technology goods.
The Prime Minister, António Costa, said on Tuesday that the country should record a new high in business investment in the economy in 2023, noting that for the first time exports accounted for more than half of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“In 2022 we had a record year for business investment in our country and by the first half of 2023 we were already above the first half of 2022. And so, probably, in 2023 we should have set a new record for business investment in our economy,” said António Costa.
The chief executive was speaking at the Toyota Caetano factory in Ovar, in the Aveiro district, during the presentation of the prototype of the Japanese brand’s electric vehicle designed specifically for the Paris-2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
In his speech, Costa gave an account of the trajectory that the Portuguese economy has been on in recent years, registering an increase in the “stock” of foreign direct investment of 40% since 2015.
The outgoing prime minister also pointed out that for the first time in the country’s history, exports accounted for more than 50% of GDP, arguing that this is the result of the ability to find markets, but also that what the country produces today has greater value than what it traditionally produced.
Giving as an example the Toyota electric vehicle that was presented today, Costa defended a focus on more sophisticated goods, adding that currently 38% of exports are already high and medium-high technology goods.
“Each one of these vehicles is a few hundred pairs of shoes,” said the head of government, considering it “very important” that the country continues to “cherish traditional industry”, such as textiles, footwear and agri-food products, and to “bet more and more on more sophisticated products that per unit add much more value to the economy”.
Accompanied by the ministers for the Economy and the Sea and for the Environment and Climate Action, António Costa Silva and Duarte Cordeiro, respectively, the Prime Minister visited the Toyota Caetano Portugal factory in Ovar, where the “Accessible People Mover” (APM), which is designed to transport people with reduced mobility at the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, will begin production in February.
A total of 250 units will be produced as part of a project under the Recovery and Resilience Program (PRR), which represents an investment of 10 million euros.