The beginning of 2005 for the automotive market came with volumes not even the most bullish analysts would have thought possible. After an almost 90% growth in January, sales of new cars on the Romanian market have not stopped booming in the second month of the year, either.
Statistics point to deliveries of more than 32,000 units in January and February, that is as much as the in the first two months of 2003 and 2004 together. With more than 300 million euros, sales of new cars in the first two months are 75% higher than in the previous year.
The strengthening of the domestic currency against the euro, the benchmark currency on the automotive market, made car prices increasingly more attractive month after month, and promotional packages offered by the importers and dealers of cars, whether they were about safety equipment (such as airbags) or additional comfort (air conditioning, audio equipment) have had a growing number of potential clients take action and decide to buy.
The effect of the purchases in December is being felt even today, players on the automotive market say, given that the waiting period for the cars not in stock at dealers usually reaches two or even more months.
“I believe February results show some of the cars contracted in November and December that were delivered in February,” believes Brent Valmar, general manager of Porsche Romania, the biggest automotive importer on the domestic market.
There are more and more voices on this market that say the sales boom is actually due to the fiscal relaxation measures that induced increased confidence among people making them go for credit or leasing.
Furthermore, the increase in the prices for flats to an almost unaffordable level has caused a shift in the population’s priorities to other goods, such as cars, which have suddenly become more affordable.
“The enforcement of the new fiscal relaxation measures has undoubtedly had a positive effect on the sales of cars, as well,” Valmar believes.
More precisely, many Romanians took heart when they saw their monthly pay was higher by two or three million ROL in January and February. That was what made the difference with respect to them affording to buy a Logan in instalments. This Dacia model is the top-seller of the first two months of this year by far.
“No matter what the cause is, the effect cannot but be gratifying. It remains to be seen, however, what happens in the next few months,” says Marius Carp, executive director of the Romanian Association of Automotive Manufacturers and Importers (APIA).
Two are the scenarios that could play out in the next few months, analysts say. In the event that the growth was largely due to acquisitions made in November and December with delivery in January and February, then the market can be expected to resume normal growth pace in March and April, namely about 10-15%. If the growth is rather based on the fiscal relaxation measures, as well as on the exchange rate trend, i.e. the macroeconomic factors, then growth estimates of 10-15% provided by analysts and main players on the market can be expected to be exceeded again, as it happened last year. ionut.bonoiu@zf.ro