TiriacAuto anticipates 30% increase in 2006

The vehicle division of the group of companies held by businessman Ion Tiriac posted 470 million-euro turnover last year, given that sales of cars went up by 50%. “Although projections regarding the trend on the automotive market in 2006 are cautious, we set out to attain a 24,000-unit sales volume, which accounts for a 36% growth on 2005. This planned growth is due to the fact that there are brands inside TiriacAuto which have yet to reach maturity, and have a higher growth potential than the market,” says Adriana Ichim, TiriacAuto chief executive. The estimates of some of the main players on the domestic market target a new car sales volume that is comparable with last year”s, though a slight decline is possible, too. This potential market adjustment comes after total sales last year amounted to some 250,000 units, according to estimates, or a growth of approximately 40% on the previous year. “Our sales in 2005 exceeded forecasts because of the trend followed by the auto market, due to the development of the territorial network and the strategies adopted by the importing companies against their specific competitors. The sales performance reflects positively on the consolidated financial profit.” Ichim did not care to reveal last year”s profit figures. TiriacAuto”s sales went up by 50% in 2005 to 17,683 units. The group had initially targeted 15,000 unit sales, up from the about 11,000 units in 2004, while the projected turnover was 430 million euros. ZF