 Meanwhile, Pires organized an agreement with Daihatsu Motor Co of Japan so that the Japanese would supply them with original Daihatsu running gear for the first generation of PORTARO vehicles and for a SEMAL new model called the "GV TAGUS 4X4 DieseL

PORTARO production started in 1975, when at the time Pires and Megre signed a lifetime contract with the Romanian Government and with the ARO car company.The Romanian firm agreed to supply all the necessary parts, while GV (Garagem Vitoria) a Portuguese vehicle export firm would supervise the arrival of components in Lisbon for model production at their SEMAL factory with numerous Daihatsu running gear stocks there awaiting fitting for these vehicles.Before this took place, GV-SEMAL went to Switzerland for the 1978 Geneva International Motor Show who brought and displayed 2 different vehicles the first one a brand new "PORTARO Celta 260 TURBO 4X4" which was a hardtop model with Daihatsu 2530cc TurboDiesel engine, and a second unit was a soft-top canvas-roofed model "PORTARO Celta 210PT TURBO 4X4" with a Volvo 2127cc Turbocharged petrol engine fitted.This was the first time that a Portuguese automobile manufacturer had its own showstand internationally, plus it was the first ever Portuguese car brandname to be present at the Geneva Motor Show, and was also the very first ever Portuguese car with TD TURBODIESEL engine.