Only Three Car Brands Beat 2007 Sales Volumes

The local auto market fell 75% from 2007, and sales are estimated at fewer than 90,000 units this year.

The only brands whose sales increased in five years are Suzuki, almost 1,400 cars in the first ten months from 560 during the corresponding period of 2007, Lancia and Land Rover.

Lancia, the premium brand of the Fiat group, now also sells the Ypsilon supermini and the Delta compact car models, which are made by US carmaker Chrysler under the Lancia brand.

As for Land Rover, the Range Rover Evoque SUV launched last year accounts for half of the total sales on the local market this year.

“There is never only one thing that would influence a result, instead we are talking about a number of factors here. The current model range is wider, and the engine versions and options offered are better adjusted to the trends,” said Mihai Ivanescu, chairman of Premium Auto, the importer of Land Rover and Jaguar in Romania, part of the Tiriac Holdings.

The importer plans to have 680 Land Rovers delivered this year, almost 60% more than in 2012 and the same as in 2007.

Ivanescu said, “it is hard to define a trend at the moment”, but he hopes 2013 would come with a better economy.

The brands with the lowest declines since 2007 include Porsche, merely 8%, BMW, MINI, Jaguar and Audi, decreases between 11% and 27%.

On the other hand, volume brands saw the steepest decline, by more than 75%, as they have relied on the clunkers program over the last few years. The sales of Dacia shrank by almost 80% from 2007 through 2012 while Opel’s and Chevrolet’s by more than 85%.

(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)

Growth for only three brands

Source: Association of Automotive Importers and Manufacturers (APIA)

Worst decline

Source: Association of Automotive Importers and Manufacturers (APIA)