Car production fell 8% to 35,171 units in January 2022 compared with the same period in 2021, data from Romania’s carmaker association ACAROM show.
Ford became the highest-volume plant for the first time in January, with the Craiova plant delivering 19,355 cars last month, up 4% from the same period last year and a similar volume to January 2020, when Puma production accelerated.
On the other hand, Dacia posted a 20% drop to 15,800 units in January, a volume that is even less than half that of January 2019, the last January with production at full capacity. In January 2020 production was impacted by new carbon dioxide regulations and delays in the launch of production of cars equipped with petrol and LPG engines.
Dacia’s drop also comes as production of the new Jogger, which complements the range alongside the Duster, Logan and Sandero Stepway, started in December.
In addition, in January, Ford’s production continued uninterrupted in all working days in Craiova, while at Dacia there were also days without production due to lack of electronic components. The crisis hit the Craiova plant hard in October when they lost 80% of production due to scheduled shutdowns.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)