Car dealers fail to meet surprisingly high demand

Car dealers were not expecting the high demand for cars in October, and only managed to deliver 10,400 cars, a similar number to that delivered in the corresponding period of last year, while the potential would have been of over 11,000-12,000 units. The lower volume is explained by the fact that dealers preferred to work on an order basis instead of keeping stocks handy, in order not to be left with lots of cars unsold after November 24th, when car scrappage scheme vouchers expire, considering that the next scheme starts on February 1st.

“Many dealers and importers have run out of stocks and are working on an order basis to avoid having their money tied up and to reduce costs. In addition, some of the clients waited for November to come in order to purchase vouchers at lower prices,” said Alin Tapalagă, head of Porsche Inter Auto, the retail division of Porsche Romania , the biggest player on the market.

The car sales trend will continue to be “W” shaped in the next few months, believes the head of PIA, estimating a volume of around 10,000 cars in November, which would mean a rise of up to five percent.