Romanian car market turns to discounted cars

Although demand for new cars saw an over 50% decline in the first four months of the year, those who decided to purchase a car did not go for lower-priced segments, but for discounts and more affordable models, players on the car market say. “Clients that have acquired a car through the ‘Junk Car’ scrappage programme have mainly looked at family cars with a good offer. The majority of them acquired a Skoda Octavia Tour and not a Fabia, which was cheaper,” said Daniel Drivicean, sales manager of Brady Auto Center, one of the largest Skoda dealers in Bucharest. He added that clients generally acquired a petrol-driven model, due to the lower acquisition price. Sales of the 1.4-litre petrol-powered version of Octavia Tour fell 11% in the first four months, compared with a 58% decline for the 1.9-litre diesel-powered version. In the first four months of the year, 70% of Octavia Tour models had a 1.9-litre TDI engine, whilst last year, they accounted for 80% of the volume. The remaining 20% were cheaper, petrol-driven engine cars.