Volvo importer targets 21.5m-euro revenues

The general importer for Volvo, Forum Auto, expects its turnover to exceed 21.5 million euros this year, up more than 25% on last year, from sales of 550 units.

a??We expect to see a sevenfold growth in the volume of cars sold this year by comparison with the year in which we first started importing for Volvo in Romania, meaning an increase in turnover from automotive sales to around 16 million euros. The increase will come from the growth on the premium automotive segment, and, in particular, the internal changes in the organisation and management of the company,a?? said Lavinia Huidan, the general manager of Euro Inter Trading Group, which includes Forum Auto.

Forum Autoa??s network of local dealers will nearly double this year with the opening of three new showrooms in Timisoara, Iasi and Pitesti, adding to their existing showrooms in Bucharest, Brasov, Cluj and Constanta. The Iasi dealer is also likely to expand to Oradea and Bacau.

a??We are pleased with how our relationship with local dealers is going and will continue working with these dealers across the country after Romania joins the European Union. Romania has contributed significantly to the increase in the Central and Eastern European market, which is one of our biggest markets with sales growth above the overall market growth,a?? said Wim Maes, the president of Volvo Cars for Central and Eastern European.

The fall of the euro against the ROL led to an increase in sales of Volvo cars in Romania in the first few months of the year. This was especially true of the higher range models, such as the XC90 SUV.

Compared with 1999, the average annual turnover of Forum Auto has increased by a factor of 16, from 110,000 euros. Forum Auto has invested more than 6 million euros to date, and has allocated 0.5 million euros to upgrading and retooling its service equipment for this year.

dan.zavoianu@zf.ro