He feels Romania needs at least twice the current growth rate if it wants to have a say in the region.
“For Romania to have convergence with the other countries and economies in the EU, we need much more than 4% growth, we need 7% growth to close the gap to Czech Republic and Poland,” Nicolas Maure said.
Whether Romania can do it or not should be the topic of a good debate ahead of next year’s elections, he added.
Dacia ended 2014 with EUR4.24 billion, beating OMV Petrom for the second year in a row. It is also the largest exporter in the country, because it generates 10% of the total exports.
With a gross domestic product per capita that is one fifth of the Western European countries’ GDP, a 2.8% economic growth last year, and only three Romanian-owned companies among the top 100 exporters, with half the population fit for work gainfully employed, with an education and healthcare system in free fall, Romania has no other chance but to mobilize its resources.
This is the first time Dacia’s MD brings up the importance of a sound economic growth for the development of the company and for the business environment.
The Dacia plant will manufacture a new version of the Easy-R automated manual transmission, as well as new components for future Renault models but the officials of the Renault-owned carmaker say neither the group nor Romania can wait forever for the Pitesti-Sibiu highway to be built, which is considered vital for local companies’ exports, Maure said.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)