New car sales speed past 256,000 units

The sales of new cars exceeded 256,000 units last year, an increase of more than 40% on the previous year, according to market estimates, based on the data the Association of Automotive Manufacturers and Importers (APIA) is to reveal today. The growth is much higher than anticipated by the main players early in the year, 200,000 units, which corresponded to a market growth of 10-15%. The much greater demand than expected by importers and producers was due, car dealers say, to a series of factors that acted in concert to the advantage of the automotive market. The development of the financing systems over the last few years was backed by the car fleet renewal programme last year, that is the so-called disposal bonuses and last, but not least, by the psychological effect generated by the extra income derived from the introduction of the flat tax. No less important were the impressive events like the Bucharest International Auto Show and the Tiriac Auto Park that led to a growth in sales of new cars beyond 256,000 units. Automobiles accounted for most of the total vehicles sold, 215,000, an increase of nearly 50% from the previous year. Out of the total cars sold, imports witnessed the highest growth, over 75%, while cars made in Romania saw over 30% growth. The growth in the sales of domestically manufactured cars would have been even higher, but the limited manufacturing capacity of Dacia made the potential clients of this carmaker wait for weeks to get the cars ordered. ZF