Team size: Nine
Major legal advisers: PLMJ, SPS, Morais Leitão

In what ways do you see the in-house legal role evolving in your region over the next few years?

In-house lawyers will develop more profound knowledge concerning laws and regulations on digital sales and digital channels. They will continue to face data protection challenges, including introducing new sales models. The scope of knowledge of in-house lawyers is constantly increasing, especially in financial services – to follow regulations involving new business models and innovative products and sales channels. Legal matters are gaining relevance and attention also from supervisory authorities. It is challenging to keep learning about new legislation and regulations in a short timeframe and be able to focus on business objectives simultaneously. At times, there is the need to ask for additional expertise and support from law firms. Technological tools offer great aid in supporting legal and compliance management, representing a promising investment in terms of increased internal control.

In a changing financial landscape, how does the company remain competitive against new phenomena such as fintech and blockchain, and how does the legal team assist with this?

The core business of VWFS Portugal involves the financing or renting of cars. It is strictly dependent on car dealers – customers enjoy seeing the car in the shop and eventually test it. Being a significant investment of money, customers look for different offers on car brands, models, and prices, allowing dealers to provide financing or renting options together with the car. Nevertheless, today’s competitive market requires us to adapt to new business models, follow market trends, and develop digital channels based on simple and easy processes; technological platforms are intuitive and give customers a consistent and rapid online experience. Offering a variety of sales channels and products enables the customer to trust and wish to continue operation with us instead of fintech. Belonging directly to Volkswagen Group, we can guarantee excellent cars, offering quality financing options. It is essential to keep caring for customers even after the sales because that makes a real difference in customer retention. The legal and compliance team shall support the implementation of digital sales and simple processes. There are several laws and regulatory frameworks surrounding the online landscape; legal and compliance shall support the process of making information simple and easy to understand for the customers. The biggest challenge is to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements without losing the customer in the online journey.