Car market up 19.4% in Q1

The overall growth rate of the car market reached 19.4% at the end of the first three months of the year, against a 4.3% rise in the first quarter of last year. However, the figure is three times lower than the rate of 62.6% seen in 2005, according to the Automotive Manufacturers and Importers Association (APIA). The growth witnessed by the car segment, which stands at 19.4% (higher than the 18%registered growth of commercial vehicles) was stimulated by sales of Dacia, which accounted for 30.8% of the market, Renault (8.9%), Skoda (8.8%), Volkswagen (8.1%), Opel (6.2%) and Daewoo (5.4%). The total number of vehicles (both cars and commercial vehicles) sold in the January-March 2007 period stood at 70,192 units, 45% of which were sold in March. The demand for imported vehicles was almost twice as high as domestic sales, which accounted for almost 44,800 cars.