The highest previous quarterly growth, 44% to almost 14,000 units, had been registered in 2012.
“The growth is interesting in terms of percentage but hardly impressive if we look at the volumes now compared with 2007 or 2008. It continues to be driven by corporate purchases and after the start of the clunkers program we’ll see higher volumes,” said Constantin Stroe, vice-president of Automobile Dacia and chairman of the association of automotive manufacturers in Romania ACAROM.
The strong rebound of the auto market in the first quarter comes after a 3.5% economic growth of Romania in 2013. Moreover, retail sales rose by almost 9% year-on-year in February, the highest increase in 14 months and trade has been on the rise in the last six months.
“I’ve noticed several positive economic signals in the last few months such as consumer spending increase, an increase in orders and industrial output. That new car sales are up, too, shows a slight rebound of consumer sentiment, considering these are durable goods and entail a significant expense, which consumers postpone in times of economic uncertainty,” said Ionut Simion, partner tax advisory with PwC Romania.
As in 2012, the market was almost entirely driven by the fleet purchases in the first quarter. Stefan Simion, general manager and shareholder of Ford dealer BDT, says only three individuals out of several hundred customers bought a car in the first quarter, with most consumers expecting the start of the clunkers program this week. Companies accounted for 86% of sales on the auto market according to the Association of Automotive Manufacturers and Importers (APIA).
Out of the 37 brands sold in Romania, 22 saw an increase in registrations in the first quarter. Moreover, the top ten brands by growth include volume brands like Ford, which rose by 120% to more than 1,200 cars sold, as well as premium brands. Ford ranks second in terms of growth behind Maserati, which tripled the number of units registered to three.
Dacia ranks 13th by growth, as its sales went up 13% to almost 4,000 cars in January-March or 30% of the local market.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)