“The online component has played a significant role in the last few weeks so now the two channels contribute 50/50 to sales. We are now delivering 50% of the contracts closed online and 50% closed as usual, and the online share is growing. (…)” Cristian Milea, chairman for the Automotive Manufacturers and Importers Association (APIA) said in an online conference organized by Autobest.
Dacia, Ford, Renault, Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda and MINI launched websites or programs enabling customers to reserve, make a down payment or even buy a car to be delivered to their homes later.
Renault Commercial Roumanie was the first to do it by launching dedicated websites for Dacia and Renault, enabling customers to reserve their cars. Ford Romania, too, launched a website that lets customers pick a car and see which dealer has it in stock.
The effect of the pandemic and the crisis caused by it has somewhat lessened, and the sales volumes in May are higher than in April, when the local market halved compared with the year-ago month.
“We expect growth of 50% in May compared with April for the entire market. It is hard to say now when we will revert to 2019 volumes, however. By the look of things, we expect 20% to 30% decline in 2020 and 2021. We won’t reach last year’s figures any time soon.”
In all, 32,300 new cars were registered in January-April, 27% fewer than in the year-ago period, according to the General Directorate for Driving Licenses and Car Registration (DRPCIV) data. Registrations of new cars were about 30% lower in March and 50% lower in April.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)