Tăriceanu exits Citroën business

Călin Popescu Tăriceanu has completely given up sale of the Citroën brand, nearly 20 years after bringing the French brand to Romania, which propelled the former Romanian prime minister into the forefront of the Romanian auto industry.

“The activity of Automotive Trading Services as far as the Citroën brand is concerned will continue in Băneasa with the brand’s servicing, but car sales will be dropped. The employees at the Citroën showroom in Pipera will be relocated to the Băneasa centre,” said Bogdan Bucurescu, general manager of Automotive Trading Services (ATS). The company 85% held by the former premier and 15% by Bogdan Bucurescu, continues to be a Ford dealer and an importer of Harley Davidson motorbikes. ATS is the first player in the auto industry to completely drop a brand, after in 2007 it went from being an importer to a dealer by taking over direct imports by Citroën Romania, and has now also given up sales operations, while keeping servicing operations. Călin Popescu Tăriceanu was not available for comment by edition close.

ATS recorded its best results in 2006, when the company posted nearly 55 million euros in turnover and recorded an almost 3 million-euro net profit, and sold over 3,500 cars as an importer.

The biggest exits in the auto market in the last few years came from Ion Țiriac, who last year handed over imports of the Ford brand to the imports division of Ford Romania, a company that holds the car plant in Craiova, and at the end of 2009 sold the 49% stake in Mercedes-Benz Romania to Daimler AG. In both cases, however, Țiriac remained dealer of the two brands through ȚiriacAuto retail chain.