Last month was also the best month of the past five years, as the last time more than 8,600 cars were registered was August 2011 (almost 8,800).
The new car registration peak came after the first full month of the “Rabla” clunkers program (May), as anyone who buys a car has 30 to 90 days to register it, so the sales in May translated into registrations in June. This is why May sales of new cars reached the highest level since November 2011 and came close to 10,000 units delivered for the first time in three years, according to the Automotive Manufacturers and Importers Association (APIA)
New car sales rose by almost 90% in May on the year-ago month to 9,976 units. This is the highest percentage growth in one month in the past decade.
In all, new car registrations increased by 10% to 34,500 in the first half compared with the same time last year. However, the first half growth stood at almost 30% to 31,300 cars in 2014.
If the growth pace remains the same in the second half, new car registrations might reach 77,000 by the end of 2015, while actual sales are estimated at nearly 100,000 units.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been able to talk about 10,000 cars a month again. The entire market is growing. We’re definitely talking an over 90,000 car market this year, and we estimate 95,000,” said Bogdan Florea, brand manager for Volkswagen cars with Porsche Romania.
“Demand has been driven by large fleets, some of which delivered to authorities and operating leasing companies, this year.”
Used car imports continued to increase, as well. Second hand car registrations went up 14% to 112,500 units in the first half.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)