Q1 car sales reach 500m euros

Sales of new vehicles in Romania increased by more than 60% in the first three months of this year to more than 56,000 units. Most of the sales, over 48,000 units, were for cars, with growth on the segment in excess of 74%. After a boom in the first two months of the year, which saw growth of 90% and 75% respectively when compared with the corresponding months in 2004, growth on the market slowed during March. The level of growth, at more than 60%, was still much higher than forecast by market analysts earlier in the year. March sales rose 48% compared with 2004. In practice, with an average value per vehicle of 10,000 euros, sales on the Romanian market exceeded 500 million euros in the first quarter. At the start of 2005 analysts had forecast market growth at 10-15%, coming after a growth rate for 2004 of 30%, the highest to date. Results for this year so far have proven estimates wrong. The high growth was mainly due to the appreciation of the local currency against the euro (the benchmark currency on the auto market), which caused car prices in ROL to drop each month. ZF