Car market headed for 365,000 units

In the first 11 months of the year, new vehicle sales increased by 23.7% against the same time last year, a growth which, if it maintains until the end of the year, could lead to sales of 365,000 units. Sales of new vehicles (cars, commercial vehicles, and buses) reached 333,604 units in the first 11 months of the year, according to statistics of APIA (Automotive Manufacturers and Importers Association). The number of cars sold in the same interval was 287,818, 23.4% more than in January – November of 2006. A number of 34,356 vehicles were sold in November, 1.5% more than in the previous month, 29,594 of them being cars. The market share of Dacia, the main local builder, exceeded 30%, selling 87,508 units in the January-November period of this year. Dacia’s market share went up to 30.4% in the first 11 months of the year, and to 32.2% in November, up by almost 3% against the previous month. The market share of the Renault-Nissan group, which includes the Dacia, Renault and Nissan brands, went up to 40.7% in November, from 38.8% in the preceding month. In the first 11 months of the year, the market share of the French group stayed at a steady 40.3%. Ford sold 2,601 units in November, placing the American builder second in the APIA ranking, behind Dacia, and ahead of Renault, no. 2 of the APIA ranking in terms of sales in the first 11 months of the year. From January until the end of November, Ford sales on the local market saw an almost 70% increase against the same time last year, to 19,501 units.