As thousands struggle to keep just one vehicle on the road, the Portuguese State has bought 75 so far this year to the tune of a whopping €1.4 million.
The shiny new fleet of cars, bikes and vans were all purchased between January and June this year – at the rate of three per week.
The majority of vehicles (61) were purchased for security forces, then there were six motorcycles for medical emergencies, five people carriers for the prison services, two vehicles for the army and one for civil protection.
Expresso newspaper’s Economy section adds that each security force vehicle purchased between January and March cost €17,333, while five-door vehicles purchased between April and June cost an average of €21,359 each.
The cost of the one civil protection vehicle alone cost €37,000.
According to the report, over half of the State’s vehicles (26,789) were more than 13 years old with thousands of miles on the clock.
In 2012, the Portuguese State bought 102 new vehicles: 36 for the health sector, 44 for medical emergency services, 11 for the armed forces and 11 for security forces.
